No More Hell To Pay
by Cuwaert Den Duvel
Summary: When Malefor dies, he gets the choice between, on one side, eternal pain, and on the other side, being reborn as one of the lives he killed when destroying the egg-room. Eagerly choosing the second choice, he hatches, ready for his new life. But he didnt expect that he would be reborn ...as Cynder's twin sister.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: Heaven nor hell**_

 _ **"I've probably made more mistakes than anybody. But I don't dwell on them. I don't expect people to understand me, because I'm pretty complex, and I think outside the box with everything I do. I've always taken the un-traveled path. Obviously, people have their opinions, but I can't get too wrapped up in that, because I know what I can do and I know what kind of person I am. And I have no control over what anybody says about me. I'm 'Mr. Personality'. But, obviously, I can't take that seriously. I know in my heart that if I do the absolute best I can do, maybe ten years from now, people may turn around and say, 'He wasn't that bad.'"**_

 _ **Yngwie Malmsteen(1963-...**_ _ **)**_

* * *

Malefor had experienced a lot of bad happenings throughout his life, but this day was beating all the others. What had he done wrong to deserve this? He had only tried to save the world. To make a better place for every living being the name worthy. He did his absolute best, but it wasn't enough apparently. Years and years of planning and working, gone. Disappeared in a cloud of shattered dreams and destroyed hope.

All the deaths were for nothing. All the blood was spilled for a lost cause. All the tears, the shattered families, the revenge seeking friends, useless. Nothing could repair their pain. Nothing could help them. They were lost. They were left behind, alone in their endless stream of sorrow and despair. And it was all his mistake. He was the cause of all this . But he wasn't the bad guy in this story, he knew that one for sure. He had used his whole body, life and mind to fulfill the destiny of the purple dragon. His whole existence was dedicated to his one mission, his one purpose in life. He had given everything he had, only to see it being destroyed by a small teenage dragon.

Spyro.

Malefor couldn't comprehend why this little dragon would try to destroy him. He was the oldest purple dragon for Ufillas's sakes. He had ten times more wisdom and life-experience then this sorry excuse for a purple dragon, and still, he had been defeated. It wasn't Spyro's doing however. Off all things, the ancient spirits themselves dragged him to his defeat. He had fought back with all his might, but to no avail. Instead of honoring him for his work and dedication, he had been sealed away in a crystal, destined to die thanks to the high damage his body had sustained. And that was exactly what had happened today.

After all the pain and sacrifices he had made, he had finally been put out of his misery, to receive the highest honor in the afterlife. He would receive a legendary status and his spirit would achieve his rightful place next to all the other legendary dragons from the ancient times. He would finally get the power and the life he deserved and he would get the chance to rebuild the world like he had been destined to do from the day he was born.

But he would have none of that.

Right now, he was in a white void, easily recognizable as the room of holy judges. Here, he would get the final verdict about his spirit entering the afterlife or enternal damnation. The old purple dragon straightened his back and sat down in a statue-like way. His face emotionless and his body static, he awaited his fate.

But nothing came.

The minutes began to pass faster and faster. Minutes became hours and hours became days, at least he thought, not really knowing thanks to the lack any sun or moon. His waiting seemed endless, until his nerves couldn't hold it anymore. Still standing proud, he lifted his head to the sky and screamed his biggest question pressing on his heart.

"Why? Oh holy dragon lords, why? I have given my life and energy to fulfill my destiny. I have done everything I could. Please, let me enter your kingdom. My soul will never find rest if I am not allowed to enter. Please, answer me. Why?" No answer came in the form of words for some time, only adding to the nervousness and stress that the dark master was experiencing.

He kept standing proud and strong, until his nerves broke, and the dark master fell down, accompanied by a loud cry of despair, thanks to his realization of what the silence meant. Sorrow and pain came into his mind when he realized what kind of fate had been connected to him. He wouldn't enter paradise. He wouldn't get the chance to finish his work. Now he knew for sure. All the work and energy had been thrown away.

Useless. The only thing that would be remembered of him was the destruction he had brought upon the world, totally ignoring his good intensions. His name would be linked forever to the words 'pain' and ' horror'. His spirit would be doomed to inhabit this white void to the end of days, never entering the afterlife. This made Malefor's last piece of hope shatter. Now it was official, he had screwed it up heavily this time. There would be no excuse, no forgiveness and certainly no price. Punishment and death were his fate.

Although, that was what he thought.

After another limitless time of nothing more than crying and cursing everything except himself, a voice broke through the silence.

"Look at me Malefor. Look at me and tell me what you see." The purple dragon lifted his head, shocked. His yellow eyes had widened to their fullest, clearly displaying the blood in his eyes and the wet stream of tears leaking from his orbs. The dark master was reduced to nothing more than a crying wreck, and he was surprised that his endless path of pain had already ended. Maybe the Gods weren't as cruel as he made them out to be. In front of him flew a white ball of light, shining down on the old dragons muzzle. The voice, apparently coming from the ball, repeated his question.

Malefor could only blink dumbly. This was not what he had expected to see, but at this point, he was ready to do anything to be saved from the fate that would be his if he stayed where he was right now. Slowly, he replied.

"I see a ball of light, oh mighty Ancestor." His voice almost whispering. The ball began to morph and change until it took the form of a large fire dragon.

"I am the chronicler, but you will now me better as the old fire guardian and your old friend, Ignitus." The dragon said. Silence fell in the room of whiteness. None of the dragons said a word, until Ignitus broke the ice.

"What happened to you Malefor? You aren't the little dragon that I used to know. The dragon that used to play with me when we were little. The dragon that always listened to me when I needed to tell him something. The dragon that cried against me when the elders had punished him for misbehaving. I don't see that dragon anymore, Malefor. The only thing I see is an empty shell, filled with hate and death. You may be looking like Malefor, but you aren't him. Not like I knew him. You are what is left of him, a dead and hollow body, killing purposeless and dumb. But I know better than to judge just by the looks. I know that there is something left of the old friend I once knew. And you know that too, don't you?"

Malefor lowered his head. He knew that his deeds were horrible and unforgivable, and he knew that he would never convince Ignitus of his good intensions. He wouldn't believe him anyway. Hell, he didn't believed himself most of the time, but the low and dark voice of the dark element had always whispered soothing words in his head. Words to justify his deeds, to claim his killings as necessary. Now, there was nothing that would tell him to go on. The evil had died with his physical body, taking its sorry excuses with it, leaving Malefor behind to deal with the punishment and guilt.

Guilt.

Another thing that he hadn't experienced since the dark element had taken over, but now, it began to creep inside his head, accompanied by screams and howls of dying dragons and animals, crushing his very soul. Malefor began to tremble and now, his physical body began to bleed and hurt, destroyed by the physical embodiment of guilt and all the deaths he had caused. Ignitus could only look with sadness at the screaming and crumbling form of his old friend.

"My dear Malefor, the elders may have given up on you, but I haven't. I give you one last chance to become the person I once knew. Are you prepared to get a new chance?" he asked, looking away from the scene in front of him, tears coming to his eyes. It was too much to look at.

"Yes. Yes, I will do anything. Please don't let me die here. Not like this!" the former dark master screamed, blood leaking out of his eyes, mixing with the wet tears of pain and despair.

"I will do anything to stop this pain. Please Ignitus. Please…"

Ignitus nodded. He knew that his old friend would do anything.

" Good, but know that your new path will be filled with pain and sorrow. You will be reborn as one of the countless eggs you destroyed the day that I saved Spyro's egg. You will replace one off the many lives that never hatched. Another dark master will rise and you will experience just the same as the dragons that hatched under your control. You will be….." but before Ignitus could end his explonation , he was interrupted by the screaming Malefor.

"Just do it!"

Ignitus sighed again, before lifting his paw at the purple dragon. His bleeding body began to fly , before it disappeared in a flash , leaving Ignitus alone in the room.

Goodbye, Malefor. I hope we will meet again as friends. May your new live be better than the one you left behind."

Another tear fell down.

"Goodbye friend."

 _15 years earlier. Attack on the egg-building._

A small black egg began to tremble and crack, showing that it was ready to hatch. The egg shivered and shook, until, with a powerful crack of last resistance ,it broke open, revealing the hatchling that was inside. A small dark purple dragon head peaked out , looking around curiously. It head six horns on its head and a pink underbelly. The only weird thing about it, where its yellow slitted eyes. It looked around frantically, searching for something to recognize, until it saw another egg, identical to the one that just hatched .The egg cracked too until it shattered only seconds later. A small dark purple dragoness climbed out of shell. The other dark purple dragon could only gasp at seeing this hatchling. " Cynder ?" it asked in a high pitched voice. Its eyes widening, it placed a paw over its mouth. The baby Cynder looked over to the reincarnated Malefor, before a smile formed on her young face. She crawled over the newly hatched Malefor , before hugging him tightly.

"Sister" she mumbled.

Malefor felt a heavy feelling in his just hatched baby stomach. Looking down to his body he had to quickly change that to a her. His body was identical to Cynders, except for his eyes. With the speed of an Australian train, it hit her.

" I am reborn as Cynder's twin?" she tried to say, but the only thing that came out was a childish mumbling. Before she could say more, a large bat came down on her young head knocking her out. Seconds later, Cynder was knocked out too. Gaul picked their bodies up from the ground. He chuckled while carrying both hatchlings to their doom.

" The dark master Tenebris will be pleased with this hatchlings. They are perfect for corruption. Weak and young minds." He mumbled, smiling cruelly. But no one saw the red fire dragon that was looking from behind a pillar to the whole scene. He had just saved a purple egg, but he came too late to save the twins that were just carried away. But he swore that, if he would ever find them again, he would save them. And he couldn't let the idea go that he had seen those yellow eyes before. He didn't knew where but he couldn't let it go. Ignitus shook his head before sneaking back to the other guardians.

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 **This is just something that came to me in a dream and I couldn't let it go, so I decided to write it down. And here it is. For everyone who is intersted for this story, updates will be slow. I want to make this into a quality story, so I will take my time with writing chapters for this one. And I have my other stories to update too, so dont expect another chapter immediatly. I hope everyone likes this and to see you next time. Please read and review. Ideas are respected through PM's and reviews. Follows are highly appreciated. Bye.**

 **Update 5/03/2017: I replaced the word God with a random name after one of my readers pointed out that in the Spyro series, they do not mention any form of religion. I decided to create my own religion with Gods and all to fit this story better. It wont play a big part in the story, apart from some brief mentionings. The names of the Gods will be the names of real people, if there are history freaks like me in my audience , you can search them up on Wiki or something like that.( Ufillas is a historical person.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy everything from this point forward.**

 **PTPD**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

 _ **"People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that's bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they're afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It's all in how you carry it. That's what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you're letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain."**_

 _ **― Jim Morrison (1943-1971)**_

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For away from Warfang, inside a cave in the southern part of mount Malefor, a big army of apes was marching into the heart of the mountain, led by Gaul, king of the apes. Their footsteps were heavy, carrying their dark sound deep into the caves, echoing far and long. Gaul was walking on the front of the army, his face showing his satisfaction at the situation.

Behind him were two apes, both carrying the unconscious body of a small dark purple dragoness, their paws bind together with a strong rope. The apes kept marching , brining both poor dragonesses to their unfortunate doom. Gaul was more than pleased with the capture. Finally, he had done something that could please his master. His mind was already thinking about all the things he would receive and the rank he could get out of this. His hands were shaking from pure excitement. But first he had to get to the cave of the dark master, deep into the darkest places of this hell hole. And that prove to be more difficult than it sounded, thanks to the clumsiness and lack of brains of the apes.

At moments like this, Gaul really pitied himself for being biologically related to these weak minds, not even capable of doing a simple job right without causing a greater disaster in place. But his apes were cruel and easily to manipulate, and that was all he needed. Still, they had screwed up many of his days thanks to one of their displays of stupidity. And today was, apparently, one of those days. Gaul was marching, when he heard a big bang behind him. Turing around, he was met with the sight of one of the apes that carried a dragon laying on the ground, the limp body of the dragon pinning him to the ground. Gauls eyes narrowed until they were mere slits, rage mixed with bloodlust clearly visible in his eyes. His voice, low and heavy, produced a sentence spoken with pure venom.

"What caused you to drop the dragon, ape?"

The ape in question tried to get up, but his body was stuck beneath the small but heavy body of the purple dragones he needed to carry. Looking up, he began to tremble in fear, smelling the rotten taste of death in his nose and mouth, almost suffocating him. His mind began to panic, tears of shock and desperation appearing in his eyes.

He knew very well what happened to apes who failed to do their job, and he didn't felt the need to go through the same. Going over all his options, his mind, in an act of terror, settled with pleading. Pleading for his life.

"Please, lord Gaul. It wasn't my fault. Really, ask the others. The dragoness is just too heavy. Please, my lord. Ask the others. They will confirm it."

The voice of the ape was high and sounded like the voice of someone in pure desperation. His eyes were huge and teary, looking at the Gaul, asking him to not end his life. The king of the apes looked around, his gaze meeting the scared eyes of the other apes.

Every ape that would have supported their friend in another situation, now backed away in fear, leaving the scared ape alone. Gaul grinned at this, a grin filled with the pleasure of a being that enjoyed this moment to its core. Having control over someone's life, ready to end it. He looked at the fallen ape, before speaking up.

"Really? Can someone please step forward to confirm this statement?"

The panicked ape looked around, his mind and eyes filling with dread when he saw all his friends and comrades, one by one, backing away, sealing his fate. He couldn't believe it. He was betrayed by his best friends so easily. Did they valued his life that much? Was he nothing more than a rat to them, easy to kill without a second thought? His body began to tremble, his mouth opening in a silent scream. His eyes darted around, looking for someone that could help him, but no help came. Slowly, Gaul came closer, his footsteps echoing against the stone walls, only adding to the apes terror and panic. Gaul stopped in front of the dragon, lowering his head until he looked right into the eyes of the crying ape. A breath escaped the king of the apes his mouth, filling the downed ape nostrils with the scent of rotting flesh and death. The ape inhaled the scent, before throwing up. The ground around his head became covered in puke and stomach acid, burning the apes own skin. New tears filled his eyes, the pain becoming unbearable. Gaul's smile widened at this. Again, his dark voice spoke up, filling the crying ape's ears with darkness and terror.

"I could feed you to the Death hounds, but I suppose that would be too much mercy for you."

The ape his panic reached his peak, making him scream, beg and cry for his life in a ramble of words, cries and howls. But no one could save his life. In fact he, was already dead before he could beg again, an enormous purple sword plunged into his head, breaking it in two separated peace's, his brain leaking out. The remaining apes looked away from the horrible scene, not daring to look at the destroyed body of their comrade.

Their courage had sunken from the moment Gaul had turned around. The ape king had developed a tendency to kill some apes at random times, probably just to entertain his sick, merciless mind. No ape dared to speak up against the brute, resulting in this kind of scenes being a daily happening. But still, they couldn't get used to the horrible scenes that always followed. But Gaul couldn't become happier than he was right now. Bliss and delight had appeared in his sick, twisted mind. A cruel smile appeared on his face, looking down on the mutilated body of the ape.

After some moments of silence, the ape king pointed at another ape, ordering him to carry the still unconscious body of the little dragoness. The ape obeyed, but hesitated when his fingers touched the soft, wet goo of shattered brains and blood that now hung on the scales of the dragoness. The ape did his best to ignore the disgust that flew through his system, trying not to flinch and to look away from the insides of his friend, now covering his hands and the dark purple lizard that he was carrying. He knew what would follow if he refused or hesitated and he had no desire whatsoever to join his friend in the afterlife. Sighing deeply, he positioned himself next to the other ape that was carrying a dragon.

Gaul walked over to him and stood right before him, his dark and cruel eyes gazing into his, drilling right into his very soul. Death and terror was the only thing that shone in the eyes of the self-proclaimed, right hand of the dark master. Minutes past in a slow way, feeling like hours to the poor ape, until Gaul snorted and walked further into the dark halls of this hell. After a second of something like rebellious hesitation, all the apes followed , regaining their marching sound. No one cared about the mutilated body of the ape, still laying down in the middle of the way, until it disappeared, consumed by the darkness of Mount Malefor. The death hounds would probably eat his body anyway.

This was the moment when one of the two dragonesses woke up from the dark abyss of unconsciousness. Yellow eyes opened, revealing a slit-like pupil, scanning its surroundings. And Malefor was not pleased with what she saw. It started with a tornado of new sensations and feelings coming up inside of her. The first thing she noticed was that she could smell better than before. Apparently, females had a better nose than male's. This resulted in Malefor smelling the sweat, death and…was it musk? After thinking about it , she realized in shock that she smelled the gender of the apes.

She smelled that they were male, and Malefor knew which organ had produced the smell, and it made her cringe, trying not to puke. This was just disgusting far beyond anything she had experienced so far. But she didn't remembered how she ended up here. Soon enough, the memories flowed back into her brain, adding panic to the mixed mess that was her mind at the moment. She just couldn't comprehend the ocean of feelings she was swimming in. She felt burning regret for her deeds, confusion for her being Cynder's sister, desire to know who Tenebris was and to top it all off, she had gained the instincts of a baby dragon.

And a female one at that.

Malefor had to use much of her willpower to stop herself from crying for her mommy, sadness filling her for reasons she had never experienced before. But slowly, her old, calculated mind took over again, and she tried to look around without an ape noticing. The purple dragoness had no desire to endanger herself in the first day of her new life. But another feeling crept into her young head. She had the feeling that she needed to protect someone else , but her mind didn't knew why. While she was thinking with her eyes closed , hanging limply over the shoulder of the ape, Cynder opened her eyes.

The young dragoness looked around, sensing the danger and, not having the knowledge and will power of Malefor, she did the most natural reaction for a baby dragon. She cried. Streams of tears began to roll out of her eyes, before being accompanied by her voice. She started with sobbing, until she couldn't keep herself quiet anymore, panic and pure terror taking over her young mind. After a deep inhale of air , her voice screeched loud and clear, hurting the ears of the apes around her.

"MOMMY!"

All the apes stopped abruptly when they saw that one of the dragons was awake, before smiling in cruel desire. Gaul had told them that, if the dragons woke up, they could use every way imaginable to let it shut its mouth, violence and mutilation included. Sadistic thoughts filling their damaged minds, looking down on the dragoness. Malefor looked at the scene, before something in her body began to get a life on its own.

A feeling of attacking the apes overcame her. An unstoppable feeling that she had to kill or destroy them to protect the thing she still hadn't identified yet, and before Malefor could get a hold on herself, she had jumped of her carrier, hitting the ape closest to Cynder's head first, knocking her carrier down with her tail in one smooth movement, unusual for a small dragoness her age. Standing in front of the crying Cynder, surrounded by bloodthirsty apes, she realized why she had attacked. It was her protective instinct that ordered her to defend the closest thing in her young life.

It was her twin. Tears almost came to Malefor when she realized that she had just defended something she had never had before. Something that meant more to her than anything else, thanks to the unconditional love that twins chaired for each other, pure out of instinct and the typical sister-feelings. But something unknown and alien to the old life of the former dark master.

A family.

But there was no time for feasting about having a sibling. The apes came closer, but before they could attack, a loud dark voice banged through the hall. The voice was distorted , like it were two people talking out of sync, making it sound extremely dark and creepy. Malefor couldn't help that it looked extremely hard like her old voice. Her eyes followed the direction of the gaze of the apes, yellow eyes landing on a big dark green dragon in the black shadows. His scales were dark and dull and his eyes were fully green with a slit for a pupil. His voice boomed against the walls, giving it only more power and adding more panic to Malefor's mind. Even Cynder had stopped crying, her mouth opened in a silent scream when she saw the huge dragon, fear terrorizing her heart and mind.

"Who are these two maggots?"

All the apes bowed down to the big dragon, fear in their eyes, the bloodlust disappeared with the wind. They backed away on their knees, not daring to look up to their dark master. After some minutes of the heavy silence, Gaul decided to speak, his voice totally absent of the dark and threatening tone it had used for the apes. This voice spoke of respect and….deep fear.

"My lord, master Tenebris, welcome. This are the dragons you asked for."

Slowly, the big green dragon walked out of the shadows, the ground trembling with every step. The apes and Cynder looked away, not daring to look at the face of the monster that was nearing, but the other dark purple dragoness couldn't help herself and, letting her curiosity getting the best of her, she looked up, meeting the face of the new dark master. Malefor stared in shock at the face of the green dragon that had replaced her in the way of history. Shock and confusion leaped into her small, young brain, making her almost cry again, the instincts taking over. A confused, high pitched mumble came out of her mouth, but if you listened very well, you could understand the sentence.

"Terrador? Is that you?"

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 **Well, this came earlier then I thought . You can't gues how many times I wrote him instead of her when I was typing about Malefor. It was just hard , but here is the new chapter anyway. I hope you guys enjoy it and please, leave a review or something else if you want to.I thank everyone for the reviews on the first chapter. I know that it didn't looked like that much, but its still my personal record on a prologue so thank you all. See you next chapter. School is beginning within two weeks so the next chapter could take some time, but it will probably come around the tirth day of the new school year. Again, bye.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

 _ **"This life is what you make it. No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. People will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world.**_

 _ **As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And baby, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up because if you give up, you'll never find your soulmate. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're going to fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about."**_

 _ **― Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962)**_

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Silence took hold of all beings in the dark halls of mount Malefor. No one made a sound, not the mouse in his hole, nor the death hounds in the shadows, hiding away, trying hopelessly to catch a lonely ape to use it to fill their always empty stomachs of death and horror. The world looked like it was put on hold for some minutes, until the darkest of all dragons, the dark master Tenebris, spoke up, his voice carrying far and deep into the tunnels of the black mountain. No one dared to move, the bass of the masters voice creeping through their scared minds.

"Gaul. What it this supposed to be? Since when did I gave the order to spare this kind of vermin? "

The ape named Gaul didn't reacted for some silent minutes, still too shocked with the attack of the small baby dragon. His brain couldn't comprehend how this had happened. One moment, both dragons are tied with rope, still unconscious from the kick they had received from his bat, and the next moment, one is crying while the other succeeded in defeating some apes and even tried to talk, while that was a skill only few young dragons could master on their first day. Slowly, horror was creeping inside the head of the ape king, making him tremble in anger and shock when he realized something. First , he realized that he wouldn't get any promotion for this failure. Secondly, the realization began to hit him that his master would be beyond angry with this display of weakness, and all apes knew how bloody and terrible the wrath of their master could be, even for the smallest mistakes.

His knees began to shake while he tried to look up at the enraged face of the dark master, his eyes filled with terror and fear. After some moments, his purple and green eye's met the slit-like ones , belonging to Lord Tenebris , his master. A cold feeling was clawing at his heart, creeping up his spine until he shuddered from head to feet. He knew that his life was dangling on the edge of death if he didn't succeed in giving his master a good reply within a minute. Every second of hesitation brought him closer to his death, and he had no desire to die at all. His mind tried to come up with a good excuse, sweat rolling down from his head. Slowly, he spoke, not wanting to insult his master by tone , nor by intonation. His voice was low but soothing, trying to appear as a good servant.

"This are the dragons you asked for master. This are the dragons you asked to corrupt to turn them into your slaves."

Again, silence took hold of the dark hall, no ape daring to make a noise, all eagerly waiting what kind of fate would be chosen for their king. Death or life, one of those it would be , and not one of the apes could say that they had no clear preference for the first choice, all hoping for the demise of their cruel ruler. The eyes of the apes looked at their king with sadistic fascination, hoping for his death to be as bloody as possible. But there would be none of that.

Tenebris looked at his ape servant, before dismissing him with a simple nod, his eyes now crawling over to the two small dragonesses standing in front of him, surrounded by legions of bloodthirsty apes. The eyes of the dark master gazed down on both females, making one of them tremble in fear and almost cry, but the other just kept staring at him in shock, with a knowing look in the eyes of the young dragoness, startling the older dragon formerly known as Terrador.

But, for the first time in years, the new dark master felt surprised, his face changing from his usual angry and dark expression, into a frown, showing a little bit of confusion. He had seen something really weird and disturbing about the brave youngling. Her eyes didn't had the usual iris, surrounded with a circle of color, but instead she had an eye with the same slit-like pupil as he had, surrounded by a creepy and unnerving yellow color. The eyes spoke of wisdom and intelligence, almost impossible for a dragoness her age. Tenerbis his mind began to work on overdrive, trying to comprehend how this small creature could have received this, and it annoyed him to no end that he, the dark master himself, wasn't able to come with a sensible explanation.

Frustration turned to anger within mere seconds, and his frown changed into a threatening gaze, making the poor dragoness cry out in fear, but the one with its yellow eyes didn't seemed impressed. It only added to the rage building up inside of the dark master. He wanted to kill this insolent little brat for daring to look him right in the eyes, but he knew that he had to keep them in one piece for serving as his slaves. Still, he was intrigued by the stoic and brave expression on the face of the young dragoness.

The dark master may be a cruel and vicious being, he was nothing close to being stupid. He knew very well that, even with all his power, he would need powerful allies, and being really good at judging someone's character by their deeds, he already knew that this dragoness would be a soldier of invaluable worth in combat. Her eyes held the look of a creature that had seen more and had experienced more than the most dearest and experienced warriors, and her little power-show-off from some minutes ago only confirmed to the assumptions that the dark master was making. He couldn't help himself, and slowly his rage began to ebb away, being replaced by satisfaction of having captured such a fearsome warrior in the making.

Before he could help himself, a sadistic and creepy grin began to form on his dark features, clearly unnerving the small dragonesses, the one with slit-eyes included. But still, she didn't backed up standing proud and stoic, not thinking of backing down. If it was because of her pride , or the instinct to defend her sister, Tenebris didn't knew, but he didn't cared that much either. The important information was that this dragoness would be one of his best weapons to exclude his plan of concurring and destroying the world, bringing the big cleaning in works, rebuilding the world just as it was supposed to be. The dark master his eyes left the dragoness in front of him, locking them on the still shivering form of Gaul, the ape king and one of his most loyal servants, if only to save his own worthless ass. Tenebris grin widened at the scene of the big purple ape, a disturbing force of nature, tremble like a hatchling under his gaze. A chuckle escaped him, before he decided to speak. Looking right into Gaul's eyes, he gave his message loud and clear.

"Bring them to the corruption chamber this instant. I can't wait to see this one in action."

A dark finger pointed at Malefor, to make clear which dragoness he wanted to use. After giving his orders, the dark master turned around, walking away into the dark caves of mount Malefor. But the apes had seen that their master had only pointed at one dragoness. And all the apes knew what that meant for the remaining hatchling, better known as Cynder. The sadistic look returning in their eyes, they began to creep closer to the crying dragoness, taking their knifes and bats, ready to make her death long and painful. But before they could do that, they were stopped by Gaul. Most of the apes looked confused at their hated leader, getting angry over their disturbance of the slaughtering that would happen. Gaul didn't moved until he spoke up again, his voice regaining the harshness and heaviness that had faded when talking to Tenebris. His figure stood back high and stoic, not looking in the slightest like the almost crying coward of mere minutes ago. His eyes were looking with the look of an experienced kille, ridded of their fear for the dark master. His voice spoke up, giving an order with no space for refusing.

" The sister has to be corrupted too." He said in a no nonsense manner, daring any ape to question his authority, ready to kill such a traitor immediately. But no answer came. All apes just lowered their heads in a clear sign of submitting to the huge purple brute that was their king. No one would dare to challenge him, and no one would do it either. He knew that one for sure, but it could do no harm to establish his superiority to the other apes. His face began to shape a grin, much like his master before him, and he couldn't resist the urge to explain it further, hoping that the other apes would envy him.

"I will corrupt her too, so I can surprise our master with not one, but two killing machines. A present to show or gratitude."

Gaul smiled widely at all the angry looks he received from his servants. They knew very well that he just did this to get in good papers with the dark master, and it worked very good too. Gaul stood still for some seconds, enjoying the attention he received, before he gestured his apes to follow him to the chamber that had received the name " chamber of corruption" by the apes, thanks to the obvious use of it. But it didn't changed the fact that most of the apes still felled a shudder going down their spines when they entered the dark chamber. The room was big, walls going high up until they were met with a dark and stony roof of the cave. In the middle of the cave were two holes, filled with a yellow liquid, chains attached to the sides of the holes making it easy to guess their purpose. And it unnerved the dragoness known as Malefor only more scared then she already was.

She had tried to maintain her calm figure, but she failed miserably when she realized what would happen to her. She would be corrupted, doomed to serve as a mindless slave too Terrador, now named Tenebris, until her dying day. She would lose everything in a mere minute and her new live would be totally destroyed from second one. Malefor couldn't help but chuckle a little in sick humor. It was ironic really. She had corrupted so many dragons back in the day , Cynder being her most trusted slave, and now , she would be forced to go through exactly the same as all her poor victims of so long ago. No one would save her, and, thinking about it, it didn't even saddened her the least bit. She deserved it in a way.

This would punish her for most of her deeds, although she realized very well that nothing could ever repair the damage she had caused. Still, it was a nice thought that she would receive the punishment she deserved. The only sad thing about it was that Cynder had to be corrupted too. Malefor didn't knew why, but she felt extremely sick and disgusted every time she thought about what Cynder would become after the corruption. If it where her twin-like protective instincts or her regret speaking, she didn't knew, but it saddend her to her very core that poor young Cynder had to be faced with a horrible fate like this. She sighed before looking up at the sealing and praying a small prayer to the dragon Gods.

"Please, oh dragon lords, please. I hope you will guide Spyro, so he will save Cynder as fast as possible. I know that my life means nothing to you, but I can't bear the thought of living, knowing that Cynder would be corrupted by the dark master. Please, dragon lords. Help her. Help Spyro"

A tear rolled out of the hatchlings young catlike eyes.

"Help me."

Before she knew it, she had been strapped to the chains and she began to hover above the yellow liquid. Closing her eyes, knowing what would come, she couldn't help but look around for one last time. Her eyes saw the room filled with apes, looking at her in a way that gave her the creeps, like she was some kind of interesting animal. She was startled however, when she heard the pleading and help-cries from her new twin. She tried to close her mind in a uselss attempt to block out the horrible and agonizing screams and cries coming from her sister, clawing and cutting at her heart, until she begged for the corruption to take place, just so it would all end. Slowly , Cynder's cries faded until she was totally silent. Malefor didn't dared to look, but she knew what had happened and how it looked like.

Standing next to her, was the big, slender dragon that would be known as the 'Terror of the skies'. Another tear began to form in Malefor's eyes. Slowly, her mind began to drift away, the corruption taking over. Before her falling tear had touched the ground, an exact copy of her twin was standing in the room, slender and vicious looking, iron bracelets around her neck and arms, her eyes white and her body covered in dark symbols. Malefor was no more, and neither was Cynder, replaced by the evil entities that would go into history as the 'Terror of the skies siblings'. Gaul was laughing loud and evilly, clearly pleased by his accomplishment, and he turned around, meeting the eyes from the shocked and amazed apes. Everything was lost and both twins were now mindless slaves, belonging to Tenerbis. But the last hope that flooded in Malefor's last tear hadn't faded, and it would continue into the form of a hero we all know.

Not far from the mountain, were the four remaining guardians surrounding a purple egg with childish fascination. Slowly, the shell broke open, revealing the small dragon inside. Ignitus walked over to the small hatchling, and lifted him up.

"There lays a heavy duty on your small shoulders, youngling. But I will be sure you can handle it.

I just know it.

My son.

My little Spyro."

He knew that one for sure.

* * *

 **Oh my God. What is this? An update? That's like,I don't now, two hundred years ago. But finally, here it is. I couldn't work on it thanks to school, but I have finally succeeded. An as some of you may see, this will be the last 'intro' chapter. From now on , the real story starts, so I am really eager to start writing again. Anyway, I am happy to be back, and I hope other people are too. Enjoy this chapter and Favorite, review, or even better, follow. See ya next time.**

 **Pantera.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

 _ **PS: If you want a good background song, I would recommend 'Whispering winds' from James Horner. It adds a lot of sadness to this chapter and it's one of my favorite songs ever. Normally, I listen to Metal, but this song makes me cry every time I hear it, So please try it out. Just give it a shot.(Skip the middle part though, its too happy and destroys the atmosphere.)**_

 _ **"I think anyone who has an opinion, and voices it, will offend someone."**_

 _ **-Peter Steele (1962-2010)**_

 _ **"The fragile art of existence is kept alive by sheer persistence. The fragile art of existence. No time for self-pity. No time for dwelling on what should have been, but is yet to be."**_

 _ **― Chuck Schuldiner (1967-2001)**_

* * *

Pain. Endless physical and emotional pain. A whirlpool of the cruelest and most agonizing torture ever inflicted on the mind of any intelligent creature in existence. Have you ever felt like you were torn in two separate pieces? Have you ever felt like even death would be a much better fate than your current situation? That you would have begged for your own demise, just to escape the hell that was your very existence?

This horrible cycle was the basic existence of the former dark master, better known as Malefor. The now female dragon had done crimes of the worst kind in her past, killing tons and tons of innocent families, children and parents alike. Now one had been safe from her rampage across the land. Everywhere she had come, she had left a barren wasteland , trees rotten away, the sky would turn black , drowning in its own darkness, and nothing , animal nor insect ,would ever life there again. She had transformed the cities and villages of the dragon world to ashes, taking many lives in the process. But, as she believed at the time, it had all been for the greater good. She would save the world, by bringing the biggest sacrifice made in history.

Destroying the entire planet, so it could be rebuild to form the perfect world, cleared of death, sickness, suffering and pain. Plagues and wars would be something of the past, only serving as sad reminders of how the past had been. Everyone would be happy, and Malefor would be the hero who had brought this heaven down on earth. She would be honored as a God, and remembered with the deepest respect in the hearts of all dragons.

But, as told before, she would have none of that.

No, a dragon named Spyro would destroy everything, making all her efforts and sacrifices totally useless in the end. And she had paid the price, dying inside a crystal originally made to lock her away for eternity. But for an unknown reason, she had died, finally getting her place in the halls of the afterlife.

Another dream meant to fall.

Instead of earning her place among her heroes, she was send back in time to get another chance at life as one of the lives she had ended way too early. To her surprise and shock , she was reborn as the sister of her old servant. But she hadn't got the time to get over her shock. Instead she was captured by a new dark master. To Malefor's horror , it was Terrador who had taken the dark path in this alternate timeline. Again, she didn't had the time to over think this new information, because she was forced to endure the same curse she had inflicted upon her new sister so long ago. She had been put under the same mind controlling spell that had taken Cynder, and now , in an ironic twist of fate, she would endure the same treatment. And that brought her to this moment, a good sixteen years later.

Mount Malefor, now known as mount Tenebris.

Two dark purple dragons were standing in one of the magnificent halls of the mountain, not moving a muscle . Their faces were contorted in a permanent glare, their eyes white pupil-less orbs, glowing with hate, pain and rage beyond the natural. Their bodies were huge and slender, giving them a ghost-like appearance, filling the hearts of their enemies with fear and terror. Their horns were enormous for a dragoness of their age and they were with many. They were sharper than the most strongest blades, and harder than the claws of almost any dragon.

Their own claws could pierce any skin, scale or fur placed in front of them, cutting the poor victim into pieces like butter. Their legs, neck and tail had been decorated with iron cuffs , giving them the looks of some hellish creature , serving their purpose of adding to the full picture perfectly. Both Cynder and her sister had been through hell and back since the moment they had been put under the spell. The markings on their legs and butt-region were a sad reminder of this. The ancient symbols had been burned on their skin by heating an iron bar until it was red from the high temperature .

Then , it would be used to burn drawings on the skin of both dragonesses. Although the symbols on their bodies were almost identical, the ones on their forehead weren't. Were Cynder had three symbols, forming a circle together, Malefor her head was decorated with a satanic circle with a pentagram in the middle. While Cynder's symbol meant the ending of a life, therefore the broken circle of life, the one on her sister's head was something of another meaning. The symbol wanted to express only one thing.

Hell.

Pure, torturing hell.

It was a warning to anyone who tried to threaten her, because this dragoness was seen by many as the impersonation of the devil himself. The thought was ironic to Malefor, there the situation apparently hadn't changed much on that subject. But while the body's from the dragonesses may listen to their master, and kill and destroy without mercy, behind the clouds encircling their minds, there were still the originals. The minds of Malefor and Cynder were shut of off any body function, but at the same time completely aware of anything that happened , because they could still see.

And both had begged many times to lose this ability.

Both dragonesses had to see the murders , rapes and tortures they inflicted upon defenseless animals and dragons. They had to see the horror, but they were unable to do anything about it. The worst of all was, that whatever they did, nothing could stop the constant stream of horrific images in front of their eyes, because they were unable to close their eyes. But sometimes, once in the month, the magic of Tenebris would weaken a little , and for some mere minutes, Cynder and Malefor could regain their control over their bodies. They could walk, talk , fly sing,…

And regret.

Every time again, they would fall down, hearts crushed at their horrible deeds. They would wail their hearts out, cry about their misery, and comfort each other when they were mentally stable enough. They would cry together and hold each other, trying ease the pain from their deeds. Malefor remembered one of these moments very brightly.

 _Cynder was running through the halls of the mountain. For one reason or another, the curse that kept them under Tenenbris's spell had lowered itself down , but Cynder new very well that it was only temporally. Within this and something under an hour, she would be pulled back into the madness and the despair that was the existence of both sisters since their birth. Since that day, they had been through hell , but not to come back. Instead , they were bonded to a life that held no joy, sweetness or bliss to it. Their life's were empty, nothing what they did had any value , nothing that they destroyed was serving any purpose and no one on this planet could end this miserable life._

 _It was as simple as that, and Cynder nor Malefor had any hope that the situation would ever become better. Speaking of Malefor, she was exactly the reason why Cynder was running around. Ever since their first time that they had become free for some time, Malefor had tried to avoid her, screaming or crying incomprehensible words and cries of misery, pain and a cause Cynder still hadn't discovered. The slender dragoness didn't knew why, but she didn't cared that much either. The only thing she wanted to know, or find for that matter, was her sister. Even with all the push-aways, all the curses thrown to her, she still believed that her sister could be pulled out of it, if only for a minute._

 _After much searching and running through the dark and cold halls of mount Malefor, she finally arrived in one of the lesser known halls in the immense fortress. These were the halls that were once build to store food or supplies , but they never served that purpose. Instead, they were forgotten and left empty, no ape daring to go into the almost totally forgotten part, not caring for what was inside of them. But Cynder knew better than the apes. She knew that there were many caves build into the forgotten halls, just big enough to store a dragon._

 _A crying dragoness in this case._

 _Cynder sighed when she entered the hall, meeting the sight of her sister crawling away in one of the small caves, crying her heart out. The youngest twin her heart broke when she saw the misery Malefor was in , but she knew very well that there was little she could do. But she wouldn't forgive herself if she left her sister in a crisis situation like this, so instead of leaving, she walked closer to the cave, trying to make as less noise as possible to not disturb her sister. Her paws led her to the cave on autopilot, while her brain tried to come up with the right words to tell, the right sentences to cure her sisters pain, the best purrs to ease her confused and suffering mind._

 _But she couldn't._

 _Cynder had never succeeded in helping her sister out of her personal hell, and it hurt Cynder deeply. It didn't meant that she wouldn't try._

 _" Mally?"_

 _Cynders voice sounded hollow and empty in the gigantic hall, the sound echoing away in the dark caves and cracks in the wall. The purple dragoness could only stare as her sister didn't reacted to the nickname she had given her. But Cynder wouldn't give up so easily._

 _"Mally?"_

 _The youngest purple dragoness felt her heart give a small sigh of hope when she saw her sister opening her eyes, looking straight at her, but she recoiled when she looked into the slitted orbs of her sister. So much emotions were swimming in the eyes of Malefor, the yellow around the eyes looking red from all the tears that had flooded freely from them. Mally's eyes were looking at her with rage and a small amount of something similar to guilt._

 _"My name Is MALEFOR!" she screamed at the top of her longs, voice cracking from raw and rash emotions._

 _Cynder lowered her head, tears coming slowly to her eyes. She didn't knew why, but she had to cry almost every time her sister screamed at her. It just hurt her so much to see how less Mally cared about her, although she knew deep down that Mally did care, but her uncontrollable emotions made it incredibly hard to look through that façade of anger and pain._

 _But Cynder could._

 _She knew that deep down, Mally just did it to protect her, to protect her for a threat that Cynder didn't knew._

 _"Go away. You are not allowed to come close to monsters." said Mally._

 _Cynder's eyes widened a little when she heard this. But she returned an answer just as quickly._

 _" And which monster would that be?" she asked, although she knew the answer that would follow._

 _Mally closed her eyes again, trying to fight against the tears that were flooding out of her eyes. It was clear that it hurt her to say this, but with some tries she succeeded in forming an answer, although her voice was still cracking._

 _"I am ,Cynder. I am the monster. I have killed people, Cynder. Innocent people who did nothing wrong. I tortured children for God sake. I have lost my right to live a long time ago, my sister, but now I have to suffer for the pain I once inflicted upon those I deemed lesser than me. Now, I will deal with my punishment, but it was never my intention to pull you with me in this , promise me that if you succeed in getting out of here, you will take your chance, even if that means leaving me behind. "_

 _Cynder her eyes widened further in shock, her mind not finding the right words , until it settled with a screamed " NO!"_

 _"I will not leave you. How many times do I have to tell you this? You are the only person that ever tried to understand me, the only person that ever defended me from others who would harm me. I can't live without you."_

 _A tear fell out of Cynder's eyes._

 _" I need you."_

 _Mally opened her eyes again, looking at her sister shaking her head in disagreement, but before she could try to convince her sister, a startled and pained cry escaped from Cynders muzzle, before her eyes filled again with the white void that showed that their time was up. Mally, looked down , knowing that her time had come._

 _"I am sorry Cynder."_

 _Slowly, the curse began to take over Mally's mind again, paining her mind and paws, until she began to feel the lightheaded feeling that was caused by the magic ._

 _"I am so sorry."_

And so we end again with the start. Mally and Cynder were both standing unmoving , waiting for orders of lord Tenebris. After some minutes of waiting , the dark green behemoth showed himself, grinning with an insane but calculated smile.

"My dear servants. It came to my ears that there is a dragon that keeps pestering my forces in Avalar. The name of this maggot is Spyro. Find him and destroy him, or if you ca , bring him to me so he can be 'added ' to my collection of loyal dragons." A dark glint appeared in his eyes when he spoke about his army of dragons, his grin widening.

"Leave now, and don't even think about failing me or death will be upon you."

Almost like a pair of robots, both dragonesses nodded before marching to the entrance of the mount Tenebris. Without looking back they flew away, their twisted minds fixating themselves on the task awaiting them. But one thought could pierce through the void surrounding Mally's brain.

"Spyro."

Hope wasn't totally gone.

At last.

* * *

 **Okay, first I want to say that Mally isnt the permanent name. If you can come up with a better alternative, please tell me. I would like knowing other peoples thoughts about this little project of mine. But, finally , this chapter is done, so now I can work again at my other stories. See you next time .**

 **R.I.P james Horner.**

 **See you.**

 **Pantera**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

 _ **AN: Finally, I have been able to write another chapter for this sweet little story of mine. But really, it looks like the whole world is just trying to keep me away from this site. First my parents, next my school, than my friends ( We had been a little bit too drunk at a hardcore festival and later a metal fest party. Yes , I am 15 , but in Belgium its legal to get drunk from the moment you reach to age of 16 so...well that was useless info.) Excuse me for that. Anyway, here you have another chapter for this thing. Please tell me what you think about this story. BTW, to answer the reviews I recieved the last time I updated, sorry but I couldn't find a Beta-reader and all my English is for a full 100% self-thaught so it's normal that I am not a perfect writer. I can also promise you that this chapter will introduce a character we all know and love, at least I do, and no it's not Spyro or Ignitus. Anyway, behold the next chapter in this story (Hehehe...)**_

 _ **"We should enjoy and make the most of life, not because we are in constant fear of what might happen to us in a mythical afterlife, but because we have only one opportunity to live."**_

 _ **Greg Graffin (1964-...)**_

* * *

Life seemed simple for the common animal in the woods of Avalar. The mouse that searched for food. A squirrel burying its food in the ground in the hope that he would once return to use it for a darker time, if he hadn't been eaten by then. A mole was digging its way through the hard ground, unaware of the big and majestic world existing above him. Somewhere high in a tree was a hawk, eating his just caught prey. Nothing looked out of place, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Nature was working in its usual, mysterious way. But this wouldn't last.

High in the sky, above all the peace of the ground beneath, were two flying things. It were abominations of nature, cursed by dark magic and influenced by forces long forgotten by any good soul on the surface of the earth. Their souls were dark and their minds clouded with the power of the dark master, leaving no space for rational thinking. White, emotionless eyes without a pupil were scanning the lands, searching for the ending of its journey. Days they had been searching. They had flown for countless hours, day nor night stopping their quest to reach their end goal. Tenebris, the dark master, had given them their mission.

They would not fail.

The two purple dragonesses had to find the young purple dragon called Spyro. He had defeated some of their master's armies and put a hold to the fast spreading of his darkness. The little pest had succeeded in defeating many legions of apes already and although the apes had no strategic mastermind in their ranks, the sheer number of their forces would be enough the defeat any enemy.

But not this one.

This small little dragon had done more heroic deeds in his short life time than any of the great heroes of the past. He had made a legacy for himself, spreading hope and joy through the ranks of the last resisting dragons. And hope could be a very dangerous thing . It made dragons do reckless things, just to defend their useless ideals and if you added a hero to the mix, you would get a very dangerous cocktail. Hope was the one thing that never died. It was the one thing that kept people standing in dark times like these.

It was the thing that fueled the hearts of everyone who had the courage to stand up against the dark master, and were some would start, others would follow. Those small groups of resistance would be able to form an army against the dark forces and even with all the power of the dark master combined, there would be a chance of losing.

And Tenebris knew this.

He was no idiot. He knew very well what would happen if the dragons of Avalar found something to believe in. A kind of messiah, the one person who would save them all. The person who would protect them and all their silly ideals and morals. It would cause a wave of resistance , and even the dark master had to admit that he wasn't able to win from thousands and thousands of bloodthirsty dragons who were fighting to protect their homeland. Another detail was that the dark forces existed solely out of murderers, bounty hunters , psycho's and corrupted dragons and none of these would hesitate a moment to leave Tenebris behind if defending him could cost them their miserable lives.

And that was why he had send his most trusted, but mostly most corrupted assassins to clean up the mess that was Spyro. He had send the only two dragons who would not hesitate to kill, not abandon him or even think about betraying him. They would stay at his side to the bitter end.

Their mission was simple. Kill Spyro and with doing that, crush the last pinnacle of hope for those pathetic dragons. Without Spyro, there would be no reason to fight, resulting in an easy victory for the dark master.

According to the spies he had send out, Spyro would be living inside the remains of the dragon temple. And that was exactly were Cynder and Malefor were heading for.

After many hours of searching and flying around without any direction, the two assassins found their target. There, overcrowded with trees and other vegetation's from nature , laid the once glorious temple of the guardians. Once, it had been a breathtaking building, its large walls intimidating any dragon or ape that went through its magnificent gates. It had been the highpoint of dragon architecture and it had marked the place were any dragon, without caring about heritance, tribe, country or believes could come together. The temple was the symbol of freedom and the wisdom of the dragon species, marking them as the greatest species on the whole continent.

Many people would claim that the temple looked creepy and dead , nature taking its way and covering the whole building in thick layers of leaves and fungi. Most of the entrances were blocked by vegetation or they had collapsed thanks to the years of being unlooked for and the weather taking its toll on the magnificent structure. But no emotions whatsoever were seen on the faces belonging to the two sisters who entered the temple somewhere around midnight. They walked through the enormous halls , not even bothering to look at the beautiful wall decorations or the shockingly detailed statues laying around on the floor and standing proud in their abandoned halls of forgotten history.

The eight dark purple paws made small sounds on the ground, echoing through the large an empty halls of this ancient building. Not even a mouse had entered the old grounds of the temple, making it a dead and mysterious place. Only insects and other simple life forms weren't bothered by the obvious discomfort other creatures clearly associated with this place.

None of this mattered to the dragonesses, who had only reached this place to do one thing, and one thing alone.

Kill Spyro.

There was no other reason for them to come such a God forsaken place , and they weren't planning on staying in the temple for a minute longer than necessary. Their only purpose was to please the dark master, leaving no room for second thoughts or hesitations.

After many hours of wandering aimlessly around in the dark corners of the temple, both dragonesses began to realize that there was no sign that anything living had entered this place for years, leave alone a dragon. They searched for many more hours, but to no avail.

All this time , the real Cynder and Malefor could do nothing more than look how their own bodies were searching around without any possibility to do anything about. Malefor had the feeling like she could cry, if she had been able to do so, that is. The purple dragoness hadn't done much else these past years and she felt no need to change this old behavior. Back when she had been the dark master, she would have cursed herself for showing such signs of weakness, but years of being controlled and being at a total loss for any way out of her misery, she had become mentally broken. There was nothing left of her once proud and strong mentality . These characteristics that once defined her famous personality had faded away, being replaced with an empty and despair filled shell of what it once was. The mind controlling spells had hurt her brain more than Malefor ever thought possible. The damage they had caused had made a chaotic swamp of the already messed up mind of the former dark master, mental scars running through the brain of the once great dragoness. Her sister wasn't that better of either.

The years had taken a big toll on Cynder , although in a smaller extent then the damage that had been dealt to her sister. The purple dragoness her young and innocent mind had protected her from most of the horrors she had to endure, too young to correctly comprehend what she was doing or what her deeds caused . She was the perfect case of the old saying 'ignorance is bliss'. Cynder just knew too little about the world around her to compare her life to anything else, so she wasn't so heavily affected by her acts, although she began to realize it more and more thanks to her mind aging eventually. Still, Malefor was the one who had to endure the biggest pile of shit through her life.

The old dark master had questioned her ways more than once back when she was the high and mighty purple dragon, but this new life had convinced the purple dragoness. Even if the most things told by the small kids back in her old days were bullshit, they had at least one truth in their words. It was told to them every night before going to bed, to stop them from misbehaving.

She was indeed a terrible monster.

Hell, she deserved death a million times for what she had done, now she understood the horrors she put upon Cynder and so many others. Maybe it was her sister instinct that made her think this, but if there was one way to free Cynder, she would do it, even if it meant dying herself. Than her life would have some worth at least.

At this moment however, she could do nothing more than look at how her body travelled on its own , searching for someone or something deep inside the halls of the old dragon temple. Even with all the dark thoughts plaguing her mind and all the horrors she had seen, Malefor couldn't help but be slightly curious to what her body was actually searching for. She had heard something of a dragon they had to kill, but the mind control had been too strong to hear or see anything when Tenebris was talking to them. The purple dragoness had figured that every time she went closer to the new dark master, more of her old self would slip away just so it would return from the moment she would get farther away from him. Still , the mind control would stay mostly intact, leaving her still bonded to the monster once known as Terrador.

After many hours of searching, Malefor began to get slightly annoyed . To her, It looked like the thing that Tenebris wanted wasn't here, and she was getting bored. Just as she was started to get sleepy, she heard something.

And her body responded immediately.

Turning around, both dragonesses were met with a pitiful sight to behold.

There, in the middle of a dark hall was an old dragon. Judging by his scales, he was an ice dragon although the color had faded a long time ago. His legs were thin, showing the delicate bones underneath. His ribs were clearly visible and one of his eyes was cut out, maggots of some sort crawling around in the hole. The dragon could barely stand, and he made a constant stream of pained grunts and whines , clearly showing his weak state of health. He just stood there, not moving at all. His only good eye was looking at both of the dragonesses, although they held no hate or hostility, surprising Malefor .Slowly, some details began to process over to the mind of the confused dragoness.

Those blue eyes, the two horns, that tail, that nose spike. It fitted somewhere in Malefor's mind, but she didn't knew where. Some minutes passed in silence, until the dragon spoke up, shocking Malefor again.

That voice.

Within a split second, all the pieces began to fit perfectly , forming the image she had been searching for. Shock and total confusion took over the mind of the old dark master when she recognized the broken form of no one else than the ice guardian himself.

Cyril.

Slowly and silently, the old ice dragon spoke still looking surprisingly friendly at the two dragonesses.

"Good night misses. What are you searching for in these empty halls?"

Cyril's voice spoke of pure kindness, although there was a small mocking undertone to it. Malefor was still trying desperately to comprehend what was happening in front of her very eyes, but her corrupted body wasn't so slow to respond.

"Explain your presence in these halls dragon, and you may be spared." Her voice said in a distorted and low voice. The message was clear. Speak or die.

The old ice dragon was very stupid, or just incredibly brave, but either way he just chuckled a little bit.

"Oh please. I am just an old dragon. What kind of information would I have that could interest your dark purposes?"

Now it was Cynder who did the talking in the same demonic voice as her other half.

"Do you know of the purple dragon, going by the name of Spyro? Reply or die, old one."

Another chuckle followed , clearly angering the corrupted dragonesses. Cyril wasn't giving it much attention however. Instead he just looked up, before speaking up.

"Dear lord, the young dragons these days. Seems that they lost all their respect for the older generation."

Eventually, before Cynder nor Malefor could say something, he lowered his head to look back at the dragonesses, smile erased from his face.

"Yes, I know were the purple dragon lives. But I will die before anyone will come within a mile from his home."

Malefor had finally recovered mentally, and was now almost freaking out. What the fuck was Cyril doing? He was getting himself killed if he wouldn't do something quick. But the old dragon looked like he had not a care in the world. His stance showed nothing more than being a little bit prepared, but the two sisters would be able to reach him before he could lift a finger . Still, he showed nothing more than the image of an old dragon who wanted to have a friendly chat, although his smile had faded slowly. Cyril's eyes now held something comparable to determination, mixed with the same mocking undertone from some mere minutes ago.

Although this greatly unnerved the real Malefor, her corrupted body wasn't able to spot the sudden chance in attitude. Or it just didn't cared of course. 'Probably the second.' thought Malefor in a vain attempt to humor herself. But there was no denial that this was a unnerving situation.

"We give you a last chance. If there is any information you can give us, it would be greatly appreciated. Refusal will be answered with violence." Cynder said, her dark voice resonating from the walls , giving it a creepy undertone.

"Violence it will be then." Cyril answered.

For a minute , no one moved. You could hear a needle drop. Just when it looked like nothing would happen, something moved.

Malefor could only scream mentally when she saw Cynder lunging herself at the unprepared ice guardian.

* * *

 **Tadaaaaaaaa**

 **Here you have it. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I liked to write it. And don't forget, reviews are always respected. Also, if you think you can be a beta-reader, please let me know. If you can stand the fact that I post very slow and that you have to Beta-read within two days after sending time, it would be greatly respected if you could take the job. So, that was it for this time. See ya next time.**

 **PTPD**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _ **The petty man is eager to make boasts, yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception, yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him.**_

 _ **When you locate good in yourself, approve of it with determination. When you locate evil in yourself, despise it as something detestable.**_

 _ **Xunzi (313 BC-238 BC)**_

* * *

Malefor tried to scream. She tried to cry. She tried to shield her eyesight from the horrible picture unfolding before her very eyes, but to no avail. Nothing would stop her orbs from looking upon the doom of one of the last great dragons of this time. In another life, they would have been enemies, but now Malefor had no desire at all to see the death of the ice guardian himself.

Cyril.

It wasn't that she held no feelings of vengeance against the elder dragon. If she wouldn't be in this situation right now, she might have tried to harm him too, although not going for the kill. She would scratch that prideful smirk of his face, just enough to leave a permanent mark to remember the fool that he should have stayed home instead of crossing paths with the almighty Malefor.

She would have enjoyed cutting through his soft flesh, permanently damaging the delicate and sensitive muscles, tissue and nerves under that damned shiny layer of scales. Dreams of these kind had visited her mind many times back when she was the honored and mighty purple dragon, but they had left her from the moment the corruption began, taking all her dreams, sanity and plans with it.

The desire to harm him were further way from her mind then they had ever been right now. She still wasn't keen on the ice dragon, but she couldn't watch this drama anymore. He had seen too much misery already. She couldn't see another dragon die. Even if it was someone who she would have cursed to hell in her past life. Her mind was just too tired to handle with the burden of another lost soul, another pool of blood spilled by her claws. It had been enough, and if she could she would have given everything she had to stop this needles fight right now .

But she couldn't. Nothing could stop her sister from attacking the old ice guardian, although not by her own will.

Before the elder dragon could react, he was pinned to the ground by the weight of Cynder's slender body. Without wasting a moment she opened her maw, ready to break Cyril's neck with one swift bite, but even this simple moment of preparation was enough. Within the blink of an eye, Cynder felt a sting of pain puncturing through her stomach, forcing a distorted yelp from her maw. Cyril had used his sharp tail spike to stab at her unprotected underbelly, saving him from an untimely and gruesome death.

Cynder took some steps back to avoid being hit again by the spiky appendage, giving Cyril all the time he needed to get back on his paws. Malefor couldn't help herself but being slightly shocked by the agility and fitness the elder dragon had shown within those few moments. He had looked so weak and fragile some mere seconds ago, and now he was standing there , almost looking like he invited them to try to fight him.

To her, it seemed like the young and powerful guardian she had known for so long had finally returned, although a little bit more damaged. His muscles were clearly visible under his dulled scales and his eyes held the look of someone who would fight to the last breath, his maw showing the smirk Malefor knew so well. It was a very intimidating figure to her.

Cynder didn't seemed to care for the sudden change in appearance , attacking immediately after she had recovered from the blow to her body. The spike hadn't pierced through her scales, and the only indication that it had even happened was a small collection of scratches. Nothing to worry about.

A shot of shadow of fire flew out of her mouth, going straight for his face. To Cynder's and Malefor's surprise however, he dodged the flaming ball of heat, shooting a shot of ice at Cynder in the process. Taking by surprise, she couldn't move out of her way in time. Taking the bolt of ice head one, she was blown backwards right into the hard concrete walls of the old temple. The force of the blow was hard enough to force some parts for the sealing to break down and hit the female dragoness right on her head, knocking her out. Without making a sound, she fell on the ground with a dull thud.

It was at this moment that Malefor realized that she hadn't moved throughout the whole ordeal, standing firmly without any indication of aggression against the elder dragon or to help her defeated sister. For a second , Malefor felt self-conscious. She felt like she was back in control of her own body, if only for this brief moment. A shiver of pleasure went down her spine when she realized she could feel her fingers, legs, tail, neck and even her eyelids for the first time in months.

It even worked to form a small, although sad, smile on her features, just to celebrate this small moment of bliss. Without realizing it, she closed her eyes , just to focus on the sensations around her. Feeling the wind blow on her face for the first time in years, small rays of light falling on her body through the holes in the ceiling.

All the other times she had regained control over her body, it had been down into the halls of Tenebris's mountain, making all these small gestures of nature unreachable to her. Only depression and sadness had been her companions back then, and even the sweetness and comforting gestures made by her sister weren't able to make her misery less painful. The whole ' being Cynder's sister ' thing still felt alien to Malefor and she didn't knew how to deal with it, nor how she should be what would be expected from a good sister.

She never had any family and never had the feeling that she desperately needed one, but here she was. It didn't made it any easier that Cynder defiantly wanted to be the perfect sibling by giving her love and affection, and it saddened Malefor that she knew that she was almost unable to return any of it. Malefor had always been a socially awkward being and sadly her new life brought no change on that part. But she pushed these thoughts away. There were other things to care about right now.

Malefor felt a small sting of surprise when she saw the clear confusion written on Cyril's features. The elder dragon had expected the slender beast to attack him, to harm him, to fight until the last breath with the purpose to kill him. Instead, he had witnessed the dragoness cracking a smile, before closing her eyes and just…standing there. If Cyril didn't knew better he would think that this dragoness had stumbled here accidently, just to enjoy her surroundings. It almost made him feel happy just to see someone smile again.

It was a rare thing to do these days.

Still, the elderly dragon didn't let his guard down. It didn't matter how you looked at it, this dragoness still was an assassin sent by the dark master himself to kill the only thing that kept the world hoping for a better future. The only thing that had the whole fate of the planet in his tiny paws.

Spyro.

Cyril felt a weird form of sadness spring to his stomach when he thought about how all of this happened.

He still didn't understood why his lifelong friend Terrador had decided to betray the whole dragon race so heavily all this years ago. How could he? The one dragon who had sworn to protect his people, to serve all sentient beings for the greater good, how had he off all people found the path leading to the monster he was at this moment? They had been a team. Cyril, Terrador , Ignitus and Volteer.

A perfect match to serve and protect the people without a home, the dragons without protection and the moles that had no safety. Had all these things meant nothing? All the times they had laughed when Volteer struggled to keep up with himself, when Ignitus had to stop them all from doing another rushed and impulsive thing and when they supported each other on and of the battlefield. It had been years of friendship and comradery , thrown away in the timespan of a week. It saddened Cyril deeply to think back on this feelings, but he shook it of when he realized that there was still a potentially dangerous dragoness standing right in front of him.

The blue guardian found himself a little bit surprised when he saw that the supposed danger hadn't moved from her spot yet. Instead, she was still standing unmoving, apparently having the times of her life judging by the smile playing on her muzzle.

They stood there in silence for many minutes. If one would listen carefully, they would even hear the steps from a mouse many halls further into the dark holes of the old temple. Although the dragoness clearly enjoyed the whole ordeal, Cyril began to get more and more stressed with every second of silence that passed. He had never been the one that would take stretched out silences that well. As a guardian, he was trained to be there at the place of a crisis to help at any given moment, and it had made him very frustrated when faced with long pauses of nothing happening. Like now for example.

Some minutes passed, before Cyril couldn't hold it anymore. The feeling of doing totally nothing began to nag on his brain and he had to do something. Even fighting this dragoness with risking his own life would be even slightly better than this frustrating time of nothing.

"What are you doing?"

Cyril spoke clear and serious, his tone leaving no open space for any friendly conversation.

Malefor almost cringed when she heard the voice of Cyril speaking up. She wasn't eager to leave her personal heaven just yet. For the first time in months she was free once more, and for the first time in years she could caress her skin with the beautiful experience of being outside. The dark purple dragoness had almost totally forgotten how it felt to be …alive. If she would have had the choice, she would have stayed this way forever.

Life however does not work that way, and eventually she opened her eyes to meet the one's of Cyril. Time seemed to slow down when she recognized the ice blue eyes drilling into her catlike orbs. It was almost nostalgic to look into those eyes, the same ones as she had seen in her past so many times. It saddened her slightly that although she felt happiness at seeing something familiar in this twisted reality, she couldn't help but be remembered at how finished her old life officially was. She almost chuckled slightly when the saying ' the truth hurts' popped up in her head.

It certainly did.

Cyril was put off for a second when he, for a split second, saw a small flicker of deep misery in the dragoness her eyes.

It was unsettling to say the least to see a warrior from Tenebris himself, a leader with no tolerance for the act of showing emotions publicly, to be so unguarded with her feelings. Most of the dragons serving under the wing of the dark lord knew only two emotions.

Those were fear and rage.

Rage was the one most showed to the free dragons of Avalar. Wherever the troops of Tenebris went, they always held there totally neutral and emotionless face while murdering and scavenging every village they encountered sparing dragon nor cheetah. They would show no feelings , probably for giving the people the illusion that they weren't normal dragons, but untouchable and powerful demons. But, whenever angered or met with resistance, the warriors would attack the place with an uncontrollable fit of rage, even destroying the bodies and burning them so no one could ever be remembered about the poor souls who stood up against them.

Cyril knew how good the effects of psychological warfare could be, and pretending that your soldiers were monsters straight from the underworld could give them a huge advantage when raiding small and easily scared communities, where folklore and religion still lived like a wildfire. Some even claimed that Tenebris was the war God Gundobad himself, and his soldiers were his ruthless minions. Cyril knew better however. Although he was neutral on the religion part, he knew very sure that Tenebris wasn't a God. A treacherous piece of shit would be a better description.

Fear would only be displayed when one of them had screwed it up big time. It was a rare occurrence, but sometimes, when Tenebris inspected his armies personally, bystanders could see some of the warriors shivering or hyperventilating under the piercing gaze of their master and with good reasons. The dark master had a reputation for executing every person who showed any trace of individuality or personality when he saw it.

In his logic, a soldier needed to be totally submissive and loyal , making the need for self-thinking warriors nonexistent. Tenebris preferred a mass of dumb minions above an army of strong but opinionated individuals. Convenient , but foolish in Cyril's opinion.

Back to the situation at hand, Cyril was still frowning at the sight of the dragoness. Although nothing pointed at any hostility, disregarding the actions of her companion, the elder dragon still didn't drop his battle stance. Most of Tenebris warriors wouldn't take the time to carefully trick you into dropping your guard, preferring wild attacks above a ruse. This still didn't meant that this one would do the same. Years of war had taught Cyril to always expect the unexpected from every individual opponent. He wouldn't change this principal.

Malefor looked at the old guardian. Now he wasn't fighting she could finally look at him in his full glory. He looked tense, but there was no sign of aggression written on his features. Just very, very much distrust. Understandable , regarding the circumstances. Slowly , she answered his question.

"Hey, ehm… I come in peace? " she tried. Judging by the shrinking pupils of the ice dragon in front of her, this wasn't what he wanted to hear. She had to say something fast.

"Hello Cyril."

This did the job to a certain extent. It stopped Cyril from attacking, but instead made her look very suspicious. How the hell could she know his name if they had never met before? " Not in this life at least." She thought.

Cyril didn't vocalize his distrust , but his body language spoke for itself. His muscles tensed, eyes fixating on her slitted ones. For a split second, she could see a small hint of shock in his eyes.

"Funny." she thought.

"Even here people still freak out when they see my eyes. Some things never change."

Again, she chuckled a little bit. Malefor stopped herself however when she saw the confusion on Cyril's face. The elder dragon clearly didn't liked to be left out , and seeing someone who could possibly kill you laugh out of nowhere would be disturbing to practically everyone. Scratch that, she just had to stop talking so much to herself all the time. It had become a bad habit over the years, but considering the complete mental and physical isolation she had endured most of her life, it could be seen as forgivable.

For now at least.

"How do you know my name, sweetheart? "

Malefor was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the question ring though her head. Cyril had regained that smug grin on his face . If it was real or not was open for debate, but Malefor didn't really care. As long as he didn't attack her, she was happy.

"Do I really need to explain this?" she asked. Malefor was a little bit surprised when she heard her own voice again. She had never paid attention to it before, but she sounded more like a female hatchling then the adolescent she was supposed to be. Strange.

Cyril nodded. Malefor sighed. This could go to many directions. It solely depended on her reply on his question. The problem was, she had none. No answer, at least not one that would make sense to Cyril, could be given. Malefor her brain began to stress out, trying to come up with something, something that could pass as a legitimate excuse.

"I …eh…You know , I…..I have no explanation."

Malefor lowered her head. It hurt her old pride that she couldn't come up with anything better. She had been a master of deceit and manipulation , and now she was reduced to nothing more than a pathetic minion who couldn't even create the simplest lie.

Oh the irony. Surprising how the deep the great can fall.

" That is rather unfortunate." Cyril's voice said, breaking Malefor's destructive train of thought. After some seconds , she nodded before deciding to ask Cyril something. It wasn't the smartest thing nor the most calming question to ask, but she just had to know this.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Clear. Plain and simple. One question, but with so many underlying thoughts. Did she wanted to live. Would she really care if he actually decided to kill her? Would death really be so much worse than this life? She had seen what waited for her on the other side, but hadn't she suffered enough already? Would her ancestors, or the Gods for that matter really think that she still hadn't learned lesson? But, if she had to be totally honest with herself, she didn't really thought so herself. If she had the balls to make her minions kill thousands upon thousands of dragons in the past, she just needed to man up and face her punishment.

Looking back up again, she saw Cyril eying her rather creepy. His eyes held no confusion , but no aggression either. Of all things, she could read determination in his eyes, although not knowing why. After what seemed like an eternity, he answered.

"No."

Malefor didn't knew if she had to feel relieved or devastated.

"Killing you would be of no worth to me."

The dark dragoness was a little bit confused at this statement.

"How do you mean? I am a threat. I am a servant of the dark master. By all means, you should be clawing at my throat right now. "

Cyril grinned a little. The dragoness had something cute when she looked at him with her large round eyes ,even if their color and pupil would put of most people. Her voice was high and childish, sounding in no way like the one made by her companion. It almost sounded friendly, inviting to have a nice little chat.

"Why do you want an answer to that question ? Would you prefer to die instead? " he asked. His tone was joking , although the underlying threat was still clearly detectable. Even now, Cyril still didn't trusted her, just like a real battle ready guardian would. As it was supposed to be. Another pang of nostalgia hit Malefor.

"To be honest, I don't know what I want anymore." She said.

Cyril frowned.

"How so? Don't you cherish life?Aren't you living to see the day that your master will conquer this world?"

Malefor couldn't help but flinch at the clear accusation made in that statement.

"Again, that's a very difficult question to answer."

She didn't really knew what else she could say to him. She had nothing else to say. There was no purpose in bothering other people with the shit she rightfully had been punished to.

" You are a rather difficult individual aren't you? Not many answers, but questions galore. Yes, a mysterious dragoness indeed."

Malefor chuckled a little bit. She was a mystery, but sadly one that had to remain unsolved for the sake of herself and everyone else.

"You may be more right than you could ever think Cyril. But some things tend to be better when left alone. Some secrets need be remain just that. A secret."

"Even if that means that the person who holds hit needs to live a life of lies and deceit? I don't really know anyone who would sign themselves up to such a thing. Secrets need to be told, otherwise it just rots until the whole world can see the horrible truth through its faded shell. Keeping it will only bring pain and suffering."

"Oh Cyril." Malefor thought. "If only you knew how correct you were."

"I will never know if you keep talking in riddles, oh mighty dragoness." Cyril said. Although Malefor's pride winced under the clear mockery when calling her 'mighty' , she let it slide of. At this time, she had other things to worry about then a damaged feeling of misplaced pride.

"I am deeply sorry, but I am afraid that I can't explain myself much further than this. Too much has happened to me to be able to explain it in a single day."

"And you wouldn't believe me anyway." The last sentence was left as a thought. Cyril's curiosity had already been triggered too much, and Malefor wanted to keep the conversation as friendly as possible. Cyril however, had no such intentions..

"It seems you are rather keen on your secrets. Is there anything else you can talk about without giving me a 'It's a secret' excuse, because up until this point, you haven't really done anything to make believe that you are nothing more than a bloodthirsty minion. Prove your intentions now, or face me in a fight."

Malefor was slightly shocked, and hurt to a certain degree, that she still hadn't reached her goal of calming Cyril down. It seemed like he still didn't trusted her for a small bit. Although she tried to get her old calm and coldblooded character back to the surface, it failed miserably. Her eyes began to look like the one's of a cornered animal.

"Not another fight. Please, to all that is sacred, no fight." She thought.

"Please not with Cyril."

Before she could try to run, her thoughts were stopped when she heard the sound of someone…..chuckling? Her eyes searched for the source, and her slitted pupils widened when they saw that no other than Cyril himself was laughing. Cyril, the same guy who preferred his honor and his pride above all. The same guy who couldn't stop talking about his supposed 'royal ancestry' , who wouldn't stop to make a sardonic comment about Volteer, to swallowed up in his own arrogance to realize how wrong he was. Of all the dragons in the universe, he had to laugh with someone else than himself?

Maybe some things did change. Next to the obvious things that is.

"You should have seen your face. Priceless. You make it too easy for me , dear dragoness." He snickered , a big and friendly smile covering his face.

She wanted to say so much more. To talk, to interact with someone who had nothing to do with her personal battle. Not someone who would order her around. Not someone who would overload her with pity , like Cynder tended to do thanks to her caring character. Just someone who could listen. Someone who would have nothing to prove , nothing to gain by listening but just did it because it was the right thing to do. She had finally gained a part of Cyril's trust ( enough to at least keep him from ripping her throat out.). She did not know how she had done it. Maybe he was just tired of fighting like she was, of living like a hobo in old ruins and he was just as amused as she was when he realized she just wanted to talk.

Just talk.

Malefor opened her mouth to say something to Cyril, but to her shock she couldn't open her mouth. It didn't matter how hard she tried, no muscle would respond. Thinking about it, none of her muscles responded to her at this moment. Shock and panic entered her mind when she realized what this meant.

She was back under Tenerbis his control. And, to her shock, she realized that Cyril was still in the same room as she was. All the joy, all the bliss, and just the fantastic feeling she had wen interacting with the guardian and feeling all these old sensations had made her forget one very important thing.

It wouldn't last long.

If nothing happened soon, this would end in a fight. A fight Malefor never wanted to happen.

Cyril had no way of knowing she wasn't in control anymore, and judging by the smirk on his face, he wasn't expecting any hostility. And to add to the drama unfolding, Malefor could see Cynder standing up from the corner of her eye.

The former dark master had never been someone for uncivilized grammar, but she had no other word to describe the situation then …..

"Shit."

* * *

 **Sorry sorrysorrysorrysorry for not updating earlier. To be honest, this things was standing half-finished on my computer for two months until I finally decided to finish it and post. School ( ofcourse) has been horible on me and I went to Cloudburst metal fest and Superball party, so I couldnt write those evenings( the day after wasnt possible too thanks to my stupied hangover.). This, combined with the fact that I was able to buy Far Cry 4 , Overwatch and the new Tomb Raider for only 50 euros did help me to be horribly distracted for a full month. But I promis I will be faster next time( do not count on it.) . As a small repayment, I made this chapter sliggtly bigger, and I left with another hangover...kinda. Also, I have an adiction now to music made by the Italobrothers. Those guys make my day.**

 **I have aslo been working on my writing skills. I have watched hours upon hours of video compilations of the greatest villian quotes and conversations ,just so I could improve the 'talking' aspect of my stories. I can't write anything were people talk without making it sound like it was writen by a three year old, and it bugs me. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter and (ofcourse) follow and favorite if you haven't yet. Everything you don't understand in this chapter will be explained in one of the next chapters( yes, I have worked on a general storyline and other charaters including my versions of Spyro and the guardians. I have also finished the basic outline as to what will serve as the draconic religion,art , culture, laws , etc... It's all based upon the religion and politic situation around the year 300-800 AD in Europe in the great migration period, for all the history freaks like me or people who just want to know. hehehehe.)**

 **Also, this other writer named da Thinker his birthday happened on the same day that I posted last chapter, so happy (very delated ) birthday to you.**

 **PTPD checking out.**

 **Leuke dag nog verder**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

 _ **Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one in one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else.**_

 _ **Mencius (373 BC-289 BC)**_

* * *

Malefor her eyes were glued to the scene in front of her. She couldn't believe that this was happening. How could she be so stupid to let it slip her mind that times outside of Tenebris his control were small and few? Why had she waited so long to remember and inform Cyril of the crucial information? The guardian his life depended on this, and she had thrown this easy chance for him to escape through the open window. Panic began to take over her mind, but not before she could mix it with enough anger and rage to scold at herself mentally.

It was nothing more than another piece of proof of how dumb, clumsy and stupid she was. She had succeeded in becoming a dark master, giving her the power to fulfill the great cleaning only to be stopped by a teenager named Spyro. And now, when one of her old enemies needed her the most, she could only watch while he would fall victim to her enormous failure.

In her mind, she screamed for help and she pushed against the mental walls build around her consciousness, trying to break the corruption placed upon her, but to no avail. It had proven useless in the past to try to destroy her restrains, but she needed to break free now more than ever. While this storm was going on inside Malefor's head, Cyril still stood in front of her, his smug grin slightly dropping.

This dragoness had gained a small bit of his thrust within the time that they had talked. She had seemed so innocent and shy and it melted Cyril's heart to see such sweetness still existing in these dark times. It had been ages ago that he had seen a person that seemed so pure, so undamaged by war in these regions, that his mind had almost automatically turned to 'thrust' mode when confronted with such sweet memories.

But the warrior instincts inside him wouldn't let down so easy. All those years of fighting and surviving were not good to develop a nice social life, and he just couldn't bring himself to give him himself totally unprotected. Although he had to say that her sweetness made it come very close to that. Life had been so hard and so horrible since Tenebris appeared on the horizon, that it felt good to be in some nice company for once.

But something was off-putting about the situation. It happened some seconds ago, almost undetectable for normal people but not for the trained eyes of Cyril. He didn't knew why, but something about this dragoness made him feel on edge. Maybe it was the innocent twinkle in her eyes that disappeared some mere seconds ago, together with her aura of sweetness. Maybe it was the fact that her small smile began to look more and more like a sadistic grin with every passing second. It could even be the almost unnoticeable change in her stance, changing from relaxed but tense, to battle ready and threatening. Cyril could spot a dangerous dragoness in a group of a million, and this one was no different. But, against all his senses, she did not attack. She had a look of malice in her yellow orbs, slowly turning more white every moment.

"This makes no sense." Cyril thought.

"Any normal warrior would have attacked already. She has lost the aspect of surprise and she doesn't even seems to care. Like she is waiting for…."

Before Cyril could finish that thought, he felt a blinding pain shooting through his body like wildfire. Within seconds, his mind went from calculated and in control to a total frenzy. He tried to scream, but no sound would come out. In a reflex, his paws searched for the place and origin of the pain, and what they found horrified Cyril. He felt the tail blade of the other dragoness that he had knocked out some minutes ago, piercing his neck right in the middle. Before he could do anything to stop this torment, he cringed in pain when the dragoness in question began to spin her blade around, widening the hole in his throat, only adding to the torture. The sound of splintering bones, snapping nerves and shredding flesh reached his ears but his mind was in too much pain right now to receive the disgusting noises. Blood began to fill his air pipe and it slowly gushed up until it began to leak out from his mouth, blocking his ability to breath. His paws began to claw around in a useless attempt to find something to hold on to.

At the same time, Malefor shrieked inside her own head. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be. Cyril, the most egotistic and vain, but also powerful and mighty guardian of the last century was bleeding to death right then and there, and there was nothing she could do about it. In her hectic state of mind, she wasn't paying attention to the movements of her corrupted body. Before she knew what was going on, she found herself right in front of Cyril. Malefor's stomach made a backflip when she saw the horrible state Cyril was in. The old dragon was only standing on his paws right now, because of the tail blade that pierced his throat with the sharp side pointed down to avoid cutting his head into two pieces. It only worsened the guardian's torture.

Her body moved her paw to Cyril's face. Taking his lower jaw between her fingers, she lifted his head until his eyes were looking right into hers. Her next words only added to Malefor's disgust.

"You fucked it up big time pal. Seems like the end of the road for you. But please, do me a favor and look in my eyes. I want to see the life leaking out of that pathetic body of yours."

In a last move of defiance, Cyril mustered the power to spit a big slimy goo of blood and spit into Malefor's right eye. He probably expected her to flinch, or give some form of a reaction. It would be a last victory for the guardian, although a small one. The corrupted dragoness would have none of that however. Not even bothering to swipe the goo away, she opened her mouth, only to lick the blood of her face to Cyril and Malefor's disgust. The situation was a little bit worse for the purple dragoness, there she had to endure the horrible experience of actually tasting the blood of the ice dragon.

She would have given everything in the world to spit it back out, but her corrupted mind decided to amuse itself a little bit by swallowing the goo. Her tongue swiped another time to clean her scales. After tasting nothing but her own sweat, she stopped. A minute of silence went by, tension building up in the air. No one spoke a word, the only sound being the slow drops of Cyril's blood on the cold stone floor. It didn't take long for the vermin living in the ruins to come out to look what was playing with their noses, and many of them weren't disappointed.

Glimpsing at his right, Cyril could see rats and other scavengers waiting behind bricks, hiding in holes and walls until he would die. The knowledge that his corpse would be violated in such a horrible way made the guardian's stomach drop. Just like many of his kind, he would have loved the thought of being buried so he could be honored by future generations and by his family. It seemed like this wasn't the case for him and it brought a feeling of deep sadness and dread in him. But he wouldn't show it. He had to stay strong against this treacherous strumpet. Malefor decided that this was the perfect time to give her opinion on the situation.

"I can finish you of right now, Cyril. You know that right? But of course, what kind of fun would it be to deny myself such a sweet toy as you? "

Cyril didn't answer.

"You failed Cyril. Even you, behind that thick ego of yours, have to admit that you failed. You know what I am talking about, don't you?"

The elder dragon's eye's became as large as plates when they heard these words. Malefor's grin widened when she saw that finally, after all this prodding, she had entered a realm in Cyril's mind where she could hurt him. Hurt him badly. It was time to break the proud guardian into pieces.

"You seem to care about what I just said. Seems like I scored some big goals. So what is it that you wish to protect so dearly? Is it your family, friends, children? "

Seeing no change in the eyes of Cyril, she decided to pull all the registers open. Before the real Malefor could do anything to stop it, the corruption pierced the weak walls around her mind. The sorcery spread through her brain , its long tendrils searching for something they could use. Clawing and slashing at her brain, they eventually found something that peaked its interest. It had entered the realm of memory, coming across the many years of torture Malefor had endured under the corruption. But this wasn't what it wanted to find.

It was what laid before that.

Years upon years of valuable life experiences, containing information that would look surreal, even impossible to anyone who didn't knew where Malefor came from. But the corruption didn't care about the misery and pain of others, nor their history. It was the product of black and dark magic and its only purpose was to function as functional and practical as possible. And it did just that. Crossing the memories containing info about the guardians, it also found out what their purpose was, what they did and how they did it. And between all this, it found what it wanted to know, what Cyril tried to protect so dearly.

"It seems that you are protecting something. Or rather someone. Am I correct. We know it, you know it. You said it yourself."

Cyril did not answered the question, but this widening eyes spoke for him, containing more emotions than anyone could ever express in words. Panic, a slight hint of shock and some traces of…..was that fear? Was the one and only Cyril scared? Had his ego finally been thrown of its golden throne? A grin appeared on Malefor's muzzle.

"I take that as a yes." She whispered.

"But I can't help but wonder, who is it that you protect? Is it the dragon we asked you about? Is he, I don't know, let us say ….purple? Any chance? "

Cyril remained silent.

"You said you knew where he wa , didn't you? That we wouldn't get him as long as you live? "

Malefor her grin widened further. She had finally brought Cyril at the edge. It would take only one little push to push him into the dark black abyss.

"Spyro isn't here apparently. You have brought him to …Warfang I presume? "

She had done it. Finally, Cyril would crumble, and it brought satisfaction the corrupted mind of Malefor to see it happening in front of her very eyes.

The ice guardian his cocky façade collapsed within seconds, his face now openly displaying the shock of being exposed and also that small piece of fear that had been present some minutes earlier.

"No." He gasped." Where did you get that information?" Malefor was eager to answer.

"Only a fool like you would put his life at stake to safe another. It isn't so difficult as you make it out to be. Your kind of dragons are all the same. As long as you give them something to believe in, they will follow without looking back, not seeing their stupidity. You just fit that description fully, dear. And there is only one city filled with enough full-blown retards to try to hide one of the most searched for creatures in the whole realm. This whole situation would have been very laughable actually, If it wasn't so pathetic."

The blue dragon didn't respond immediately. It looked like he was reconsidering what he wanted to say. And after some time, he knew it. Cyril lifted his head slightly, a portion of his old self-assurance returning.

"Better to die for a good cause, then to serve a vile beast." he said. The old guardian his voice was barely more than a whisper, blood and other liquids almost blocking his breath. If Cynder would pull her tail away, he would probably die instantly, but he wasn't done yet.

"People need something to believe in. I need something to believe. You can't destroy that because it's an idea, and that's why you won't win. Honestly, I want to know where you believe in?"

Malefor her grin lowered a little.

"I believe in myself, and the greatness of my master. More isn't necessary. But this conversation has dragged on for long enough. Tell me Cyril, are you ready to die? "

Before Cyril could answer, Cynder pulled her tail back. Blood and body fluids flew out of the guardian's neck, covering the floor in dark red puddles, filling the holes and curves in the ground. His body fell down, gagging and thrashing around, the pain and fear clouding his mind. His body kept moving and clawing at the ground, until it suddenly stopped. Leaning over the dying body, Malefor looked right into his widening eye's, their focus beginning to fade.

"I take that as a no."

* * *

It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. There was no way. She had seen death before, blood and guts spilled across the ground. She had seen children beg her to spare their live, before she cut their heads clean of, or if she was in a bad mood, chop of their limbs and feed it to their parents. So why, oh why was it so much harder to see the life fade away in Cyril's eyes? In comparison, this was one of the most peaceful and clean deaths she had ever faced, and maybe it was just that what made her so…destroyed. It wasn't fast or sudden, it wasn't huge or explosive. He just bled to death, slowly dying in front of her. A sad and so useless end for such a great person. He had deserved to die in the midst of battle, not in this empty and dark temple, forgotten by everybody. It was a tragedy, and she had seen it unfold.

To wrapped up in her thoughts and self-pity, Malefor failed to notice that her body had abandoned the temple, leaving Cyril's body behind. Both the sisters travelled outside, noticing the dark sky. Both of the corrupted minds judged it wise the search for a good place to sleep, certainly after the fight they had had with the elder guardian. The temple was out of the question. The smell of Cyril's dying body would ruin their rest, and they didn't knew what else may be hiding in the dark halls.

After some minutes of searching, they came upon a circle, with a small house like structure made of enormous rocks. It looked more like a monument then a real house, but it succeeded in being a defendable place and it would keep them dry if the weather would turn. Not bothered by basic morals like possible desecration, they walked into the structure. They checked the surrounding area for any intruder or dangerous presence, but found none.

Judging the place ideal, both of the sisters lowered themselves in the middle of the structure, intertwining their bodies to keep each other warm. Although this was nothing more than a simple measure of survival for the corrupted bodies, Malefor found a weird kind of comfort in the warmed that her sister provided. It made her feel safe and less alone in the crippling devastation her mind was in right now. Slowly but surely, her mind slumbered asleep, long after her real eyes had closed. The dying eyes of Cyril would haunt her this night, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"I deserve it anyway." She thought.

Unknown to both dragonesses, they were watched. A single dragon was standing right in front of the structure, lurking inside it. An expression of surprice was shown on his facial features.

"Estren? Estren e ma korn-bro?"

* * *

 **I promised to be back fast, and I kept that promise( kind of.). So, as you have probably noticed, Cyril is dead now. Do not fear, it wasn't useless plotwise speaking that is. First, I want to say why this chapter is so short. I could have worked longer on this chapter, but I felt like this was a good ending and next chapter is already in the works. The dragonic culture is finished. I have taken it a little bit to far, so most of it will probably be useless, but for freaks like me, it was fun to make. It contains the full history of Avalar. Legends, Gods, heroes and lines of kings and guardians included. Useless, but fun. Anyway, this chapter ends with a weird language isnt it? Its called Breton. Its a Celtic/Brittonic language, mixed with some old Frankish influences. It is spoken in the region of Brittany in France. I have been there twice in my life and it is a beautifel region, and their language is just as fantastic. ( Btw, the last sentence literally translates to " Strangers? Strangers in my land?") So, I hope you all enjoyed it. Next update will be slower because school has started again, and my grades are very miserable at the moment and I have to perform better if I want to study history and/or psychology including germanic languages later on when I go to university. Anyway, I hope you have a nice day.**

 **From now on, I will answer every review that comes in. I have always done that(or tried to at least), but now everyone knows.**

 **PTPD**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 7**_

 _ **Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.**_

 _ **The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.**_

 _ **Confusius (551 BC-479 BC)**_

* * *

 **Mount Malefor.**

Somewhere, deep down in the dark halls of mount Malefor, was an ape running through the large maze of tunnels build inside the mountain. Her name was Uldin, and she had been a totally normal ape, or as normal as ape's under Tenebris service could be, until some mere minutes ago.

She had been wandering around in the halls minding her own business, until another ape had come to her to give her a little piece of paper.

"A message for the master." He had said, before running away like a madman. Uldin knew what this meant. He was a messenger, probably send by their king Gaul to bring new information from the battlefield to the master. Their king was so smart to never bring the news himself, possibly to avoid the annoying tendency of their dark master to kill or torture the messenger when the news was negative. If it was positive however, the one who brought the news would be rewarded, but only some lucky few ever got away with that.

Most of the times, their heads would be set on this display in the center of the eating area, or, in case it was an ape of the higher class, on Tenebris his doorstep. It would surprise no one to see one of their friends dead when they knew that he had been appointed as the new messenger, and this had brought up some dirty tactics to avoid this fate. One of those was walking up to a random ape and pushing it in their paws, giving your deadly job over to the other one. And because a messenger was still higher in rank then a normal ape, they couldn't refuse it. And this was exactly what had been pulled on Uldin some mere minutes ago.

She couldn't quite understand why someone would put her in this position. She had always been a good ape, serving her master, raising her children to be strong and brave (for an ape that is), helping her mate and refusing to take any life. Most other living beings in the realm of Avalar would laugh at hearing about an ape that refused to kill others, but they were ignorant and dumb, totally ignoring ape culture and beliefs. It didn't matter what Tenebris or Gaul said, in the end , pleasing the Gods was the top priority and they didn't allow useless bloodshed.

Of course, their warriors weren't bound to these laws, their they served their king to conquer living space and land for their race. All ways were holy, as long as they served their race as a whole, even if that meant working with one of the most despicable beings on this world, Tenebris. It wasn't that Gaul was such a good king, but Tenebris wasn't just evil mixed with some cowardice. No, the dark master was the very personification of everything evil and vile on this world, mixing it with a cruel and calculating mind and a powerful body, resulting in a killing machine named Tenebris. Uldin had heard from some other ape's that the dark master had once been a guardian at the dragon temple, living to protect their race.

She didn't really believe these stories though. It wasn't like she was an expert on dragon society, but she was pretty sure that no one who wasn't in need for drastic help would employ a madman like him. She didn't think very high of the dragon race, but they weren't so retarded, where they? It didn't really matter however, there she had to face the dark master himself for the first time in Uldin's life. She had hoped that this day would never come. She had a her children and her mate to live for. Her family would be waiting for her, and her friends would miss her. Her live wasn't even in its prime and she was already in a situation that could cost her life. But she wouldn't tremble. She wouldn't cry. She had to stay strong, for herself and for her children. She would get out of their alive and well.

She had to.

By now, she had been walking for twenty minutes through the dark underground roads in the mountain, searching for the chamber of the dark master.

"Come on Uldin, think girl. Where was it that your friends said Tenebris' chamber was?" she asked herself. She had passed the same crossroad for twentieth time already, and she wasn't making any progress on figuring out where the room was. After turning left at one of the million crossroads, she found that the air was getting more and more suffocating. The further she went, the thinner it looked to become, and after travelling deeper into the dark abyss of the mountain, she began to feel lightheaded.

"Air…..oh for the ancestors sake, my kingdom for a small piece of air." She whispered, her legs only dragging over the ground. Walking just took to much energy. Another hallway passed, before her mind began to release adrenaline, pumping her back in action, panic taking over. Without a second notice, she turned around, ready to dash away back to the safe halls behind her. Tenebris could walk to the underworld for all she cared.

"I wouldn't do that."

A shriek of shock erupted from Uldin's mouth, and in her confusion, she tripped over her own feet. Before she even tried to get up, her head started to dash around, searching for the source of the disembodied voice she had heard.

"Who is there?" she almost screamed.

" Tsk. Manners aren't very well preserved in this dump it seems." The voice said in a disapproving tone. Although she was scared to death, Uldin wasn't really feeling like she would let someone accuse her for bad manners. She had spent years upon years of raising children, and she had developed some splendid manners throughout the experience.

"Excuse me sir whoever you are, but I am equipped with some of the best manners you will find in this whole mountain, thank you very much."

A snort emitted from the darkness, almost sounding amused.

"Who are you actually, if I may ask?" she asked.

Some moments of silence passed.

"It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is your business in this place. And to be honest, I would really like to know why you are so hysterical. You seem perfectly fine to me."

"The air. It's the air sir. It suffocates me. It's just too dense. There is no way that any normal being would survive here for a long period of time. But before I answer your first question, I will point something out to you." Uldin said. Her head began to get more and more painful, and keeping her eyes open became more difficult than ever, but she wouldn't turn her back to this voice. It would be rather hypocritical to turn away from this presence only a second after claiming to be equipped with some descent manners. Her pride was clouding her good judgement, totally forgetting that this could be nothing more than one big hallucination thanks to the lack of air.

"That is?" The voice asked.

"You still haven't answered my first question. Who are you?"

"That saddens me deeply, you know. Don't you recognize the voice of your leader?"

Uldin's eyebrows shot up. In a rambling manner, she stuttered "I….I…I am sorry, king Gaul. I didn't knew it was you. Forgive me."

To Uldin's horror, an earthshattering shock went through the whole hall, making it look like the entire mountain was shaking on its foundation. Dust and rocks fell down from the ceiling, nearly avoiding the terrified ape lying on the ground. She desperately tried to cover her head with her arms, but it didn't stop most of the stones of hitting her head. After some minutes of total confusion and mayhem, the rumbling seemed to die down, only to be replaced by a booming laughter.

"Gaul? You amuse me, miss ape. No, I am not that sorry excuse for a king. I am your true leader, lord Tenebris. So now, I will ask my question again. What is your purpose here?"

Uldin stood perfectly still, a mortified look on her face. Her throat became as dry as the dessert, her pupils widening to the size of dinner plates.

This was it. She had entered the lion's den, and there was no turning back now. It would be right now that her fate would be shown. Death or alive, she didn't knew.

"My excuses, my lord. My name is Uldin. I was sent by one of the messengers to give you this file containing information about the front lines. I was searching for your room, but it isn't easy to find the place of a being so mighty as you, oh great master."

Another snort came from the darkness.

"You do know that nothing is so great an example of bad manners as flattery, don't you? I supposes you do, regarding your past statements. That is of no importance however. Please be so kind to enter my humble room."

Uldin wanted to ask were that 'humble' room was supposed to be, but in the matter of seconds, the air seemed to become fuller, giving her space to breath. Her panic rush disappeared, taking the darkness that surrounded her with it. Trembling like a leaf, she tried to stand up. After some tries, she succeeded in keeping herself standing, although she still needed the support of the wall for the first few steps she took. After some basic re-orienteering, she walked to the direction the voice had come from. Her mind was barely controlling the act, too busy to comfort her panicking emotions.

"Come on Uldin. Your kids need you. Do not fail them."

"Do not fail yourself."

When her own words of desperate self-comfort faded away into nothingness, she was surprised to see a big black door appear in the middle of the dark hall. The wood was decorated with thousands of small letters, pictures and drawing, all depicting creatures of dragon and ape folklore. Most of them were the bad guys from their respective stories and it put Uldin more off then she would have liked to admit. It were nothing more than depictions of beings long gone, but the great concentration of all this evilness on one piece of wood made her feel very uncomfortable. It were nothing more than fairy tales, but still.

"Are you still waiting Uldin? You can enter, my dear. Nothing is as rude as letting a good guest wait, isn't it?" said Tenebris from behind the wooden door. With a last hard swallow, she pushed the door open, revealing probably the most beautiful, and at the same time most ugly room she had ever seen in her life. Most of the interior was made from iron, compared to the wood constructions of the ape. The walls were covered with hundreds upon hundreds of statues of dragons, apes, cheetahs and many more. Their bodies were all connected, creating a maze of arms and legs that covered the ugly stone wall entirely. To Uldin's discomfort, almost all of them were, just like with the door, creatures from the underworld and various kings and chiefs who had plagued and massacred the people of Avalar at various points in history.

They were all depicted as strong beings, looking powerful and their faces showed bravery. All in all, it was an impressive collection of all the scum that had ever roamed this realm. The statues where covered with gold and silver, many colors of emerald being used to make the whole room look like it was making light on its own. The beauty of it all was only ruined by the solid black throne standing in the middle of the enlightened room. It was, just like the walls, covered with statues and engravings of many figures and creatures, but instead of showing their glory and joy, they depicted faces of agony, screams of horror and shock and their bodies were badly damaged and folded in unnatural ways. In total, it made one horrendous peace of art that would be more in place at a graveyard.

"Admiring my room, darling?"

A scream of surprise emitted from Uldin her throat and she made a small jump in fear when she heard the voice almost breathing in her neck. Turning around she came face to face with the one and only dark master Tenebris.

"I didn't scare you, did I ? I am very sorry if that was the case. But I don't get that much visitors these days. And if I get them, they are always so….expendable. " The dark master his voice became softer and softer with every word he spoke, his last one barely a whisper. Uldin could only try to hold herself in place, her feet having the sudden the urge to get away from the room as fast as possible. Fighting against her instincts, she forced herself to stay in place, looking up at the dark green dragon standing in front of her. His green eyes with their black cat-like pupils scared her greatly, without a real reason. Maybe it was their almost creepy childlike sparkle, or the fact that those eyes had the same natural feeling as all the other things in this forsaken place.

"I can understand why so many fear this beast. He looks like a creature made by the lord of death himself." She thought. Her feelings of determination and bravery, together with the hope of leaving this place alive disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"My lord, I have come to bring you a message of great importance." She said, ignoring the dark master his question. In the blink of an eye, Tenebris turned serious, although his playful smile didn't disappear.

"Is that so? Let's get to it then, shall we? I wouldn't keep a fine lady like you waiting, would I?"

Slowly, Tenebris moved forward, pushing Uldin out of his way. The gigantic dragon moved over to the throne standing in the middle of the room, but he stopped right in front of it. A slow, awkward minute of total silence passed , before the dark master turned his head around to look at the scared female still standing in the entrance of his room.

"Still standing there? Come over here, please. I have something to show you."

Although afraid, Uldin her natural curiosity that defined her kind won the internal battle she had. Taking baby steps, she shuffled over to the throne until she stood right next her master. Looking over at Tenebris his face, she expected him to say something, or to at least show interest in her, but from the moment she had reached him, his eyes locked themselves upon the throne. They kept standing in this way for some time, until Uldin her nerves were almost breaking. Gathering all her courage, she asked a question in the hope of at least distracting the dark master so she could get away.

"Excuse me sir, but why are you looking at the throne. Shouldn't you…..I don't know, use it?"

A loud sigh emitted from Tenebris his body. It almost sounded …sad? It shocked Uldin that a being as vile and evil as the dark master could even comprehend those feelings, leave alone actually feel them. Her plans at running away vanished in the blink of an eye. This sigh, this clear showing of emotion peaked her interest in her master. What was hiding beneath that thick layer of dark scales?

" Do you like stories, Uldin?"

Before she could contain herself, she began nodding like a lunatic. This began to get very interesting. Her kind had always tried to master the art of storytelling, although greatly outdone by the dragons who had mastered the skill to the level of an art form. They had the most famous and legendary stories and chronicles, the purple dragon being the most famous one of the bunch.

This didn't meant that the ape's wouldn't try from time to time. Their memory just wasn't good enough to capture the real feel and greatness of the tales they told. This only added to Uldin's enthusiasm. She was probably one of the first of her kind to get a tale from a real dragon. If she came away from here alive, she could impress her friends with it, and her children. Oh, dear ancestors, her children. She had to get out of here alive. If only for them. But if things kept going like they were going right now, she wouldn't have a problem with surviving.

"Yes, my lord, I do."

"Good , because there is one connected to this throne. You see, its actual origin is shrouded in controversy. Not many know where it came from or who made it, but the only thing were everyone can agree on is to who this piece of art belonged to. Once, this throne was the seat of lord Pharamond, the first dragon king of Avalar. Not much is known about him, other than that he conquered Avalar after driving your kind out of the realm. Apparently, he was a cruel leader who cursed his people to live like animals, just for his own sadistic amusement. He brought the dragon's almost to the point of extinction, together with the apes and every other living being alike.

At a certain point in time, he had conquered so much, and destroyed so much more, that he couldn't resist the temptation of the same kind so many cruel people have. In a moment of self-proclaimed glory, he decided he should make something so great, so dark and so enormous that no one would ever dare to oppose him when they saw him with it. In the end, he ordered someone to make a throne for him that would strike fear in the hearts of his enemies, and respect in the souls of his allies. It had to be something that would survive him for centuries, remembering future generations of his greatness, as he saw it. That became the throne you see I front of you."

"What happened with him?" Uldin asked.

"Eventually, he died after being banished out of Avalar, and he met his maker alone and broken, abandoned by everyone he saw as his closest companions. A really sad story if you think about it. History at it's best."

"How so? Didn't he deserve his fate? Your description doesn't really fit the mold of a nice dragon if you ask me, leave alone a king."

A chuckle came from Tenerbis.

"You may be right Uldin, but does a living being really deserves to die like an animal? In the end, he was just doing what he thought would make a better world. Actually, he should be honored for giving his life for the greater good, isn't that true?"

Uldin scoffed. "The end does not justify the means, my lord. If a leader is incapable of leading his people to a world of peace without bloodshed, he isn't worthy to be named a leader, leave alone a king. To say it more basic, he had it coming."

Tenebris gave no visible reaction to this statement other than a small humming sound. His eyes kept studying the throne in front of him, until he looked back down at the female next to him.

"Do you think that I am a worthy leader, dear Uldin?"

"…."

Baffled. That was the only word that could describe Uldin's feelings regarding the question. How, in the name of everything holy, could it be that Tenebris, of all dragons, asked a lowly ape as her what her opinion was about his leadership skills. If she wasn't in the situation she was in right now, she would have actually found it very laughable. The dark master, a dragon that had gained a reputation for many of the most disgusting murders and genocides ever committed in this realm and age, asked her, a mother of four and a servant to a king so despised that even his own kind despised him, to judge his leadership. It felt so surreal, so out of place that she had to recheck her mind to be sure that she understood him correctly.

"I….you…..eeehm."

She had no answer. How could she? Her life probably depended on this. Sweat began to poor of her body, her heart beating like a hammer. Words shot through her mind, trying to form a correct sentence that would please the master, but in her panic she couldn't help but yelping out the word.

"Yes".

Perfect. Just bloody perfect. She could have given a million other answers, but no. She had to settle with nothing more than a lame and simple 'yes'. How pathetic. Uldin almost lowered her head in shame, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes however. If this was her last moment, she had to stay strong, if only to sooth her own panicked brain.

"I thought you would say that."

Yep, this was it. Uldin could almost feel the heat of the dark master's anger upon her.

"But really, what do you honestly think about me?"

Slowly, Uldin dared to open one of her eyes. Looking up at the dark green dragon, she saw that he was looking straight at her. The look in his eyes meant only one thing, shocking the female ape at how drastic the mood had changed.

"This is your last chance, ape. Reply or die."

Stuttering, Uldin tried to bring out something else than useless mumbling.

"Yes."

"What do you mean, 'yes'? Just Yes? Is there nothing extra you can't please me with? I thought your kind had mastered the art of useless flattery. Apparently not. How …unfortunate."

Without wasting time began to walk closer and closer to Uldin, until his belly almost touched her head. The female herself was too afraid to move, her legs feeling like ice.

" This conversation has dragged on long enough. I have other things to attend my care to. Tell me, Uldin. Did you seriously meant what you just said?"

With her last bit of hope, she nodded. A smile appeared on the dark masters muzzle.

" I don't need someone that sees what's good about me, Uldin. I need someone that sees the bad and still wants me as their leader. Dumb drones are nothing but dirt in my army. Anyway, lets rap this up shall we? I do not think I will need an ape like you to read your message out loud, so you have become ...expendable."

"Please my lord. I can …."

"…"

A blood gurgling scream sounded through the halls of the dark mountain. Many apes didn't even bother to look up, already used to the horrible sounds that filled their daily life. But somewhere, on the outskirts of the mountain, one male found his house empty. Looking in the small structure, he saw his four young children, crying and alone. When he tried to comfort them, he was stopped by one horrible scream entering his ear. Even the children stopped with crying, even the youngest who was barely older than three months. After five seconds, the scream stopped, and everyone in the house couldn't help but think one similar thought. Voicing his feelings, the father whispered.

"Children, I do not think mommy is coming home tonight."

* * *

A small sound of chirping birds reached the ears of Malefor. She had been sleeping for hours and the natural watch of her body began to wake her up. Almost automatically, her body stretched itself and after one enormous yawn, her eyes decided that they had to get by and open themselves.

The first thing Malefor noticed was that the mind control of Tenebris wasn't there, to her surprise. Looking around, Malefor recognized the circle of trees surrounding them, and the stone structure they inhabited at the moment. Within the matter of a second, her mind commanded her to run. As fast as she could, she stood up, but something kept her from running away. Out of nowhere, she felt the sudden urge to look behind her, and she was instantly remembered why she couldn't run. Not like that anyway.

There, lying down, was her very own flesh and blood, her sister, and the closest she ever had and probably would ever get to family.

Cynder.

Guilt began to nag at her gut, and Malefor couldn't help but scold at herself. For being so weak, or for forgetting her only family member, she didn't knew. Or didn't wanted to admit how much he actually cared for her was more likely. She would probably never know.

It did not matter how many times Malefor toyed with the idea inside her head, she still couldn't get an agreement with herself at how she felt about Cynder. On one side, she had the family-focussed side of her brain that kept telling her that she couldn't leave the purple dragoness for her family ties, but there was another side. That one kept was a remnant of her once proud character, and it was mostly based upon her pride, ego and perception about weak and strong. It was a part of her old self she just refused to let go, adding a whole new load of problems to her list.

Cynder had always tried to be a sister to Malefor, to be family, to make her feel like she belonged. To be what Malefor never was. But Malefor couldn't accept that. She just couldn't cope with the feeling of being treated like she wasn't able to handle her own business. It made her feel so….weak.

It remembered her to how miserable her situation was, how desperate she was to get out of her own destructive mind.

Sighing deeply, Malefor lowered herself again, covering her head under her paws.

"What a failure of a dragon am I? I just keep whining about my useless self-pity, I can't even help my own fucking sister to…"

"Piv eo aze? Diskouez anavezout diouzhtu, pe me lazhan te, te yann seitek. "

Malefor her voice faded away in nothingness. Within seconds, everything was deadly silent, to the point she could hear her own heart beating. And it wasn't going slow either.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. What the fuck is that?" she thought. Her mind was going haywire at the moment, panic filling her chaotic head. As if her mental debate wasn't enough to think about, their just had to be a creature wandering about in these woods, hadn't it? Just her luck again. And judging by its speech, it wouldn't understand a word of what she would say.

Looking around, she tried to see through the rock formation around her to spot the intruder, but she couldn't see a thing.

"Probably hiding in the tree line." She whispered to herself.

After some minutes of thinking, she had to settle with probably the most dumb solution her mind had ever come up with. After scolding at herself, she decided that she would put her plan into action.

"Here goes nothing." She whispered.

Standing up, she walked outside of the sweet protection of the stone structure, until she stood fully in the open. Looking around herself, she still couldn't see anything else then a enormous circle of trees. Sighing one last time at her stupidity, she opened her mouth.

"This better works." She thought.

"Eehm, hey. Whoever you are, would you please show yourself, or be met with violence. This message won't be repeated."

Malefor almost visibly cringed at her own threat. She tried to replicate the dangerous and dark voice her corrupted body always used to get what it wanted, but for some reason she failed to give a convincing performance. Maybe it was the lack of a distorted voice, or just the total absence of confidence, but whatever it was, she sounded more like a cornered child than as the infamous "Terror of the skies." So much for holding her reputation up.

Malefor began to get anxious when the answer wouldn't come, although she was very sure that there was someone listening. After some consideration, she repeated her question, but her voice still refused to show the authority she desperately needed in this situation.

"Show yourself, stranger, or be met with my fury."

Another minute of silence passed, until a loud laugh emitted from a couple of enormous trees standing right in front of the purple dragoness.

"Estren? Me? Te ar diskiant, itron. An dra-man eo ma hini." The voice cackled, barely able to pronounce the words coming from its mouth. The bushes around the trees began to shake, giving indication that the creature was coming out of hiding. Malefor began to prepare herself for what would come out. It could be a beast she had never encountered before, it could be an ape, a king, a monster, a…dragon?

Against all her expectations, her eyes were met with the sight of probably one of the strangest dragons she had ever seen. His scales were a very dark shade of green, his body blending perfectly in with his surroundings. To her surprise and curiosity, she saw that his whole body was covered with small scars that all formed letters, and they formed long sentences, twisting and turning around his whole body, like he had a whole scroll written down on his body. Malefor vaguely remembered that, back in the days of her youth, there were some dragons in Warfang who had these as well. It was accomplished with a technique called scarification, she believed. She couldn't really remember why they did it, but she figured it was probably status related.

Next up, she noticed that this dragon had decorated his eye ridges as well. Between every scale stood a small iron horn that had been pushed in the small opening in-between every scale, creating a demon like appearance . Still on his head, she noticed that this peculiar dragon had painted his horns, who should have been brown, pitch black with even more weird letters scratched into them. Then came his eyes, who were the weirdest of the bunch. Instead of the normal white color that dragon eyes possessed, these where a blood red color that made a shiver go down Malefor's spine. To top it all off, he kept staring at her with this overly satisfied grin, fully succeeding in creeping the Terror of the skies totally out.

All in all, he looked more like a savage then as a honorable dragon, and Malefor was slightly intimidated by his stature. Still, she refused to back away, and she looked him right into his dark red eyes.

"Surrender or meet the consequences. " she said, with more aggression this time. The other dragon however, refused to take her seriously.

"Grevus? Te eo bourd, reizh?" he responded, still looking at her with that damned grin.

"Sir, this is your last chance to try to communicate with me, or I will punish you for disrespecting me."

"Kaoc'h te."

"What?"

"Kaoc'h te."

"Sir, please.."

"Kaoc'h te."

" I demand you speak…"

"K…A…O…C..'..H…T..E"

"Last chance."

"Ka…." He tried to repeat the sentence for the fifth time, but before he could continue annoying Malefor, he was pushed down to the ground, purple paws locking around his throat. Looking up, his red eyes met the yellow ones of the same dragon he had been teasing only seconds ago. Gone was the annoyed face, a murderous rage had taken its place. He could see the insane bloodlust in her eyes, shocking him. What had he done so wrong to get this kind of reaction out of her? In panic, he tried to pull the raging dragoness of him, but even with all his strength, he couldn't bring any movement in her firm lock on his throat.

"Y…Y..You fucking moron." She whispered.

"You think you are playing a game here? That I am something you can control? Do I look like a dumb fuck to you?"

The green dragon, in desperation and disorientation, called out in his own language, angering Malefor only further.

"Mar plij ganit, arsav !" he yelled.

An enraged shriek came from Malefor throat. She had snapped. Her mind was a mess. The pain of years of torture, the confusion about Cynder and finally, the death of Cyril, one of the last pieces of her old life that hadn't died, had broken her. She had been barely able to keep herself together, and now there was this arrogant, annoying and just plain insulting individual who just wouldn't stop pushing all her buttons.

All her frustrations, all her anger, al her sadness came out in one big fit of rage and anger directed at the poor dragon she was choking right now. Every time he tried to push her of, she added more force to her fingers. She didn't care about his life, she couldn't give a shit about the consequences. She just couldn't hold it back anymore. She had fallen from such a height to such misery, that her mind could barely keep up. This guy just had just chosen the unfortunate time to bug her. The wrong place at the wrong time.

"I am not weak. I am not pathetic. I am not someone's property! You hear me?" she screamed.

The green dragon had no chance of replying, there she had already put too much pressure on his throat, making him unable to answer.

Malefor would have probably continued to choke him, if it wasn't for one small sound emitting behind her. Turning her head around, she looked straight at the stone structure she had been sleeping in bare minutes ago. After some silence, she heard a sigh coming from inside, and a voice spoke.

"Sister, what's going on?"

It was Cynder. As fast as she could, she replied.

"Nothing, dear sister. You can go back to sleep." Malefor was surprised at how calm and soothing her own voice sounded when saying that sentence, like her subconscious was trying to comfort Cynder.

"Ok. Thank you sis."

A sound of something big returning to lying on the ground assured Malefor that her sister was back to sleep. Returning her attention to the green dragon, she felt weird. Her anger had just disappeared. The simple sound of Cynder's innocence had brought her back to normal, or as normal as she could get. Slowly, she released the dragon, who used the moment to breath extremely fast and heavy to regain the air he had missed out on throughout the whole ordeal. Stepping backwards, Malefor gave him space to come back to his senses. She was still breathing heavily from her fit of rage from few seconds ago, and she struggled to get her body back under control.

"You were almost dead, you know?" she said to the green dragon, ignoring the obvious language barrier.

"I know."

As fast as Malefor could muster, she looked up right at the green dragon.

"Did you just speak basic English?"

The green dragon nodded. Malefor almost regained the urge to jump at the guys throat.

"So you mean that after all this bullshit, you could speak English all this time? And you didn't find it necessary to point that little fact out before I attacked you?." Malefor knew that the sentence sounded silly. She knew it made no sense. But still, she was trembling in newfound anger. This dumb idiot had annoyed her, irritated her to the point of enormous rage resulting in a murder attempt at his life, and here she had to hear that his inability to speak English wasn't even real ?

"I…I..I just thought it would be funny, I guess." The green dragon almost whispered. His eyes looked at the ground, too afraid to dare to cross the purple dragonesses eyesight again. Malefor was slightly surprised at how small he now looked, while he had seemed so dangerous mere minutes ago. Eventually, Malefor calmed herself down enough to be able to talk to this dragon without risking that she would punch him to a bloody pulp if he even dared to make one more idiotic decision. After another sigh, she decided she could talk to him.

"You shouldn't pull pranks on people like that. They can get very annoyed, if you know what I mean."

The green dragon nodded fast, still refusing to look up.

"No offense, but I would prefer to look at someone's face when I am talking. You were able to look at me five minutes ago, so you still can now."

The dragon kept looking down, and he spoke again.

"How do I know you won't try to strangle me again?" he asked, his voice holding a rather accusing tone. Like it was Malefor's mistake that this happened.

"Maybe it was." She thought.

"A donkey never hits the same stone twice. I won't make such a mistake again, I promise. Now look up, or I will get annoyed again."

Reluctant, he lifted his head until his blood-red eyes looked right into the yellow ones of malefor. The purple dragoness decided to start interrogating this guy.

"What is your name, dragon? "

After some reconsideration, the green dragon answered.

"My name is Rhydderch, son of Galvano, son of Gawain, current head of my village."

Malefor's eye ridges lifted a little bit. Mister Rhyddrech over here spoke in speak patterns mostly associated with the elder generation it seemed. No one she knew still put their lineage after their name. But her greatest surprise was something else. This guy was from rich decent if his parents had acquired the leadership over a whole village. She remembered that around the time of her birth, every town had its owns leaders and chiefs, but they disappeared at some time. It surprised her that in this alternate timeline, there was a village where this system had survived.

It also explained the many decorations on this dragon's body. Many villages would do that kind of thing to recognize dragon of other towns and potential enemies in the blink of an eye. But again, this system should have been extinct for many centuries by now. But here was a living remembrance of times long gone, and the former dark master couldn't help but be curious about this guy his hometown.

Maybe they were some isolated village, developing their own language and holding onto ideals long abandoned by everyone else. It wouldn't be too farfetched actually. Now, with her curiosity at high levels, she wanted to ask more, but she restrained herself. She didn't felt like she could already trust the dragon yet. And what use would it have anyway, there she couldn't stay here for very long. Otherwise this dragon would end up just like Cyril.

Trying to ignore the pain in her stomach when she thought about the ice guardian, she instead looked up at Rhyddrech.

"Ok Rhyddrech, this may come off as a little bit rude, but what are you doing here? You just mentioned your village, and that your family practically rules the place, so why are you out here? Don't you have, I don't know, business to attend to?"

Instead of answering to the question, the green dragon decided to counter the question, a smug grin appearing on his face.

"I can ask the same about you. What are you doing here? As you just said, my parents lead the village, and you are on village territory so technically speaking you should be the one answering questions."

Malefor frowned. She didn't like being treated like a prisoner, she had to endure that enough already. Also, she couldn't stand this guy's arrogance, although mostly playful and harmless, it still bugged her. But Malefor, having years of experience in the art of reading people's feelings, could see more behind the arrogant façade. She could see a small hint of fear and avoidance in his eyes.

"Probably why he refused to answer my question." She thought.

"My reasons are my own. I would advise you to leave immediately. It can get pretty dangerous out here."

Rhyddrech lifted his left eye ridge.

"You don't have to tell me. I have lived here for as long as I can remember. Shouldn't I be the one warning you?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

Without saying another word, Malefor turned around, walking back to the stone structure.

"You haven't told me your name yet."

Malefor winced a little bit when she heard it. She had successfully dodged the question before, but now there was no escaping. Digging into her mind, she tried to find a name that wouldn't immediate scream" evil, there " Malefor " was a much used name for people with less than good intentions, being derived from the word 'malevolent'. Back in the day, she was given this name in her early teens, as was common in dragon society. It was a system that allowed people to give their kin names that fit them. And apparently other people thought of her as malevolent. Not that she cared that much later on, but it had bugged her to some extent back in the day.

Searching for a fitting name, Malefor began to dig in her mind searching for a name, until she settled with…

"Nandi. My name is Nandi."

Hearing a satisfied hum, she turned around to see Rhyddrech walking away, retreating into the line of trees. The purple dragoness kept looking at the place where the green dragon had disappeared for many minutes, until she sighed deeply.

"What a mess. Cyril is dead, I am a lowly servant to a mad guardian and I can't even keep my 'secret' mission secret for a time span bigger than a normal day. Well fucking done Malefor. The first price of moron-of-the-year goes straight to you."

Clearing her spot next to her sister, Malefor made herself ready to go to sleep. Looking at her sister's face she sighed again. But something captured her interest. Why where Cynder's eyelids vibrating? Was she awake all this time?

"Cynder? What are you doing?"

Opening her eyes, malefor her heart melted when she saw the playful and innocent look on Cynder's face. It looked more than that of a dragon child that had been caught listening to its parents when they were trying to be private, instead of a dragoness who had just awakened to the hell that her life was.

"Damn you Mally. You catch me every time."

After some snickering she added.

"Or should I say Nandi?"

Malefor couldn't help but smile a little at the playfulness. Maybe it was her child like mind, or maybe she just needed a break for once, but she enjoyed this small moment of peace.

"Cut it out you, it is still a better name than Cynder. Who the hell would choose such a name?" she teased.

Cynder began to fake a hurt filled face, making her eyes widen until the point of ridiculousness.

"Why would you say such a thing? My name has grace, finesse, greatness, etc.. You know, that one thing every other name misses? The Cynder-factor as I decided to call it. It is just perfection you can't match."

Malefor snickered too now.

"Is that so, sister? Is your enormous ego also part of the 'Cynder-factor? "

"You are just jealous."

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Brat."

"Stupid lizard."

"You are a lizard yourself."

"…"

Before they could contain themselves, both sisters began to laugh, for the first time in years. And Malefor couldn't deny it, it felt good. When both of them had calmed down, Cynder looked at Malefor. She was so happy right now. For the first time ever, she had succeeded in making her sister actually laugh. But still, she could see the underlying pain, the misery that tortured her own soul as well. Out of nowhere, a bold idea came into Cynder's head. She had never tried this before, but this felt just the right moment, and in this moment of joy, she did it.

She hugged Malefor.

The former dark master was shocked at first. She didn't knew what this meant, she couldn't understand what was going on. Her mind could barely catch up with the weird sensations flowing through her body, but somewhere it felt…comforting. It felt good to feel amenity, to feel safe. Without a moment of consideration, Malefor returned the hug, and so the sisters would stand for some time, just hugging each other.

Both of them felt at peace, perfectly in harmony with the other, and both knew that this was more than they could ever give to each other, cause this one move of sisterly love told more stories, shared more feelings and comforted more pain than a million words ever could.

* * *

 **Sooooooo, I finally finished this chappy. I am right into my exams at the moment, but I have succeeded in returing my math exam without leaving 50% of the pages blanco, so that is an improvement. This also means that I have more time to write. Hoeraaaa.**

 **Translations Bretons.**

 **Piv eo aze= Who is there?**

 **Diskouez anavezout diouzhtu, pe me lazhan te, te yann seitek. = Show yourself immediatly, or I kill you, you idiot.**

 **Estren? Me? Te ar diskiant, itron. An dra-man eo ma hini.= Stranger? Me? You are crazy,lady. ( I forgot what the last part meant, and I can't a translation at the moment. I update it later.)**

 **Grevus? Te eo bourd, reizh= Surrender? You are funny, right.**

 **Kaoc'h te= Damn ( fuck) you.**

 **Mar plij ganit, arsav =Please, stop.**

 **Anyway, I have three VERY important questions for you guys, so please, feel free to reply.**

 **1\. As you guys probably noticed, I have tried to give some of my selfmade lore into this chapter. Don't be afraid, it serves a purpose in the plot. But what I actually want to know is, do you guys actually care? I mean, I can put as much lore and random shit into a chapter as I please, but if at the end of the day you guys don't like it, what purpose would it serve? None. Some people see this kind of writing as an intersting expension, others as straight up rape of the source material. So I ask you, do you like it, or should I leave it out?**

 **2\. The language. Oh boy, I have thought about this for a long time, and I have decided to ,again, ask you guys. What is your opinion about the whole 'weird language' thing? Do you like it, or do you hate it and condem me to hell for it? I love, there I can use it to practice my lessons from school, but is it of any use?**

 **3\. Does the expression " A donkey never hits the same stone twice" actually exists in English? In Flemish( my native tongue) we say "Een ezel stoot zich geen tweemaal aan dezelfde steen", but do you English speaking people also use it?. I am rather curious to the answer.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next will come very fast in best case, otherwise it will wait for two months, because I am going on vacasion to Italy.**

 **See you next time. Allé salukes. Houdou. Au revoir. ( Fun fact, after america, most of my viewers are from Mexico and Canada. Funny. The more you know.)**

 **The Dragon Realms Map**

 **by weremagnus is the Deviantart map I use as a good visual of how Avalar would look.**

 **PTPD**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Justice is the constant and eternal purpose that renders to each his due.**

 **Justinian I (482-565)**

 **Right action is better than knowledge, but in order to do what is right we must know what is right.**

 **Charlemagne (747-814)**

* * *

To say that this day had been quite fortuned for Tenebris, the dark master, would have been a great understatement. This day couldn't have gone any better. At this moment, he had already spent countless hours on torturing Uldin, the unfortunate messenger who had been cursed with the job of being the one that brought him his news.

There was no real reason for the suffering he was putting her through, other than his own sick enjoyment. Although he craved the feeling of ruling other people and just the thrill of a fight, he still couldn't resist the temptation of a good old round of painful torture. It gave him a sensation he barely experienced in his many years on this planet, and he wouldn't deny himself such a pleasure in the dark days he was living in.

At this point, Uldin had been put though so much misery and pain that she could barely register what was going on around her. Her stomach was ripped open, guts laying all around the room. Her left paw had been cut off, but to keep her from dying from blood loss, Tenebris had burned all her wounds until they were closed. Her eyes both had been squeezed until they popped, and her teeth had been pulled out.

All in all, she was wishing to die. It had been enough. Even her tears refused to come out anymore. Her voice was totally destroyed by the endless stream of screams that had emitted from her throat for the last minutes. Her mind was broken far beyond repair, just wishing for her demise to come quickly. Tenebris snickered at the scene in front of him.

"I have to give to you, you are a lot more difficult to kill then most of your kind. You seem to have this motherly determination to survive, if only for your offspring. Luckily, I have every constituency in place to test the outer limits of that talent."

Walking closer to the fallen ape, the dark master closed his paws around Uldin's hands, lifting her up from the ground. A satisfied hum came from the green dragon when he could look at the destruction he had caused. Eventually, he closed his eyes so he could smell the aroma of blood and death in his nose. Bliss filled his essence. It seemed that nothing could destroy his moment of total triumph and pleasure.

"N…n…..no."

Tenerbis his eye ridges lifted up. Did this ape just speak? After all this pain, she still tried to beg for her pathetic life? This was just beyond poignant, but Tenebris had to admit that this female made his day a lot more interesting.

"I am sorry, what were you saying? I think I couldn't hear you though all the blood. Try again."

"No".

"What about no?"

"Y…y..you aren't a worthy leader."

A cold, humorless laugh came from the dark master's throat.

"You are still thinking about that? Oh Uldin,do you think I care even the least about what my servants think about me? Despise me all you want, it only fuels my pleasure. You could be plotting to kill me, and I wouldn't care. You have nothing on me, nothing to threaten me with, to hurt me with. Saying that I am not a worthy ruler is ridiculous.I don't care. Hell, you could kill me right here and now and I wouldn't care. At least death would give me some peace at last."

Throwing Uldin to the ground, Tenebris kept talking.

"The only reason to live, is to die. It's just a cycle. Nothing more than mother nature taking its course. No one cares about that one dying flower somewhere up in the mountains, so why care for one pathetic, worthless and disgusting piece of trash like you? Give me one reason why I should care."

Uldin could think about a million arguments to counter it, but nothing could counter that one argument. The only reason the live, is to die. Life is worthless. But Uldin had one more thing to counter the dark master. Stuttering and gurgling through the blood filling her mouth, she found the strength to reply.

"The value of one's life is as big as the value they give it themselves."

Tenebris looked at Uldin for some seconds, seemingly thinking about her words. The female ape wasn't able to see his face, but if she could she would have been shocked to say the least. A look of confusion had entered the dark master his muzzle. For a moment, it almost seemed like he was actually confirming Uldin's point, but as fast and sudden the moment had come, it disappeared just as fast. Within the blink of an eye, the sadistic grin he was so known for, returned to its place.

"Truly heartbreaking. It would move me to tears, if I still had useful tears to shed. But it would be a waist to cry for something like you. Anyway, lets end your pitiful existence. You were a real treat, but too much of something nice is never good for a person, and I am no exception. Prepare yourself, this is going to be a minor discomfort compared to what you have already felt."

Raising his claw above her head, the dark master prepared to behead her, but he was stopped by a small whisper that came from her mouth.

"T..Terrador."

For one second, Tenebris' world seemed to stop. The heavens stopped moving, time was unmoving and his enjoyment disappeared with the wind. No sound seemed to be progressed by the mind of the dark master, like he was in a state of trance.

Terrador.

A name so old, so ancient that it felt almost like millennia ago that the green dragon had heard it. It was a name associated with happier times, moments in the dark master his life that had been pushed away to the very back-corner of his dark mind. Memories of love, friendship, peace and joy that didn't involve horrific torture. Face's, muzzle's , voice's and characters of dragons and apes he couldn't remember flashed before his eyes, and for one small second, they returned to their original white coloring. A look of shock and disbelieve was written in them, and the sadistic grin on his face began to tremble. Slowly but surely, a tear began to roll down the dark master his face. His paw began to tremble, but he didn't lower it.

"V…V..Volteer." he whispered, seemingly in another world. His body may have been in his the throne room of Tenerbis, but at this moment his mind was somewhere else entirely. Whispering the name of the yellow guardian over and over again, Uldin began to get confused. That fast death was taking longer than she hoped. Before she had the time to vocalize her displeasure however, she felt the relieving pain of a claw piercing through her neck. With one satisfied groan, she went limb and her mind shut down while her life flowed away, finally finding peace.

The dragon that killed her however, was in the total opposite state of mind. Although his claw had dropped, and his paw was now standing in a huge pool of pieces of spine, esophagus and blood, he kept looking forward, still whispering the name, until…..

"Volteer. Please, don't tell Ignitus."

And so the dark master kept staring, but eventually, the darkness returned to his eyes, and his face formed a pained grimace. Falling to the ground himself, he looked at the throne standing in his room.

"This was way to close." He whispered. And in this moment of pain and confusion, tenebris became something he hadn't been for a long time. Something, an emotion he hadn't felt in ages, feeling just ast ancient as the memories of some minutes ago.

He felt fear.

And he should, because for the first time in years, a small piece of the dragon he once was had resurfaced. A piece of Terrador.

"This can't happen again." He mumbled.

"This won't happen again."

Looking over to the door, the dark master was surprised to see another ape standing in the doorway. His face held shock and fear, but also a hint of confusion. His bottom lip was trembling.

"I…I..am sorry sir. I didn't want to interrupt you but…."

A flaming inferno engulfed the screaming ape, and within the blink of an eye, all that remained was a simple pile of ash on the ground.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. You came in at the wrong moment, monkey." Tenebris said to no one in particular. When studying the results of his outburst, he saw a small piece of paper laying down.

"Probably a messenger." He mumbled. Slowly, he took the message out of the ashes of its deliverer, and read.

"Forget about the first message, dear leader. We have found him."

Tenebris frowned a little bit. He recognized the bad handwriting of Gaul. This meant that this was rather important news. Turning around, he saw the dead body of Uldin still lying on the ground. Walking over to the mangled body, he began to turn her corpse over, and their it was. The first message. Taking the paper he read aloud.

"Dear leader we have failed in our mission. We couldn't track Spyro down. We will inform when the contrary becomes true."

A grin spread on the dark masters face. This was good. Very good even. But it also raised the question, where were his assassins, the sisters? They hadn't returned yet and it was very weird that the apes completed a mission before the sisters could finish it.

"I will send someone to return to me what's mine. I can't lose my best warriors. Not now I am so close."

A grin appeared on his muzzle.

"Let's kill the chicken with the golden eggs. Spyro, prepare yourself."

* * *

Many hours had passed since Rhyddrech had walked out of the circle, and Cynder had returned to sleep. She said it was because she hadn't been able to enjoy a good sleep in a long time, and Malefor could understand that point a little bit, although she knew better. The real reason probably was to hide her pain and suffering, just like Malefor herself did. Sadly, the former dark master didn't had the ability to let Cynder show her pain, like she did with hers.

It was sad, but the purple dragoness wouldn't give in to the negative thoughts plaguing her mind. She had already been through a shit-storm of emotions today, and she had no desire whatsoever to add more to that pile of pain. This however, brought her to another weird thing that was going one. Since the moment they woke up, there had been no indication whatsoever that they would return to serve under the spell of the dark master. No mind control, no sudden urge to kill. Not even a small pull at her mental walls.

All she felt was total emptiness, and it scared her. What was going on? Why did the control not return, Those questions kept nagging at her mind, and although she was happy to know that she wouldn't immediatly return to a life of murder and destruction just yet, it bugged her to not know the reason. It made her feel like the situation was out of her control, and she didn't like that.

When she was operating thanks to the curse, she wouldn't care that much there she had no power over what she did in those dark moments, but now she was just confused. It didn't help of course that she had no knowledge about were the fuck they were in Avalar. She knew it had to be somewhere close to the dragon temple, but even that wasn't truly sure. Judging by the trees surrounding her, she had to be rather far away to be in a forest with this density. Also, the fact that apparently there was a whole undiscovered civilization just living in this woods only strengthened her in her believe that they were very far from any other known place.

At least in her universe. God knows how the history of Avalar was effected by her not being born. But that was a thought for another day. This didn't took the fact away that it left one big unanswered question.

Would she still recognize this world? How many cultures wouldn't have been destroyed if she never came, how many lives would have been spared and how many developments would have happened if she had just stayed small and insignificant? Or better, how many things were even more vile than before? If she hadn't been able to bring the great cleaning, how would the world have progressed further? Would the apes still wage war against everyone? Would the dragons still refuse to confront themselves with the realty that they weren't the highest lifeform on this earth and that they had to work together instead of chasing independent glory?

Malefor remembered the days of old, before she turned dark. Back then, Warfang had been a place of decay and crime. It had been filled to the border with criminals, religious extremists, cult members, murderers and a government with more corruption and vileness than the ape king himself, Gaul. Death and destruction had been a daily part of most beings lives in the city. Many of the images Malefor could remember, although vague and untrustworthy, showed a city with walls filled with holes and cracks, streets filled with violence and houses filled with beating, shattered windows and broken dreams.

Weirdly enough, she couldn't recall much more. Although this was a very general picture of how it had once been, she couldn't remember a specific incident, leave alone a specific person who she saw back then. She couldn't even remember the specific reason or happening that pushed her over the edge, right into the helping and embracing arms of the dark element.

But somewhere in her mind, there were two names who kept popping up.

Ignitus and Terrador.

Ignitus was an easy one. The memories containing him where mostly clear and good. Most of them were happy moments, although Malefor couldn't see specifically where she had formed a friendship with the guardian, not to the extent Ignitus mentioned when he doomed him to this punishment. Throughout the years, gaps had popped up in certain memories and most of them were effecting the ones of her past as the dark master. Malefor wasn't sure why exactly this happened, but she had a strong feeling that the years of mind control had something to do with it. This only urged her to think about a way to get away from this life.

"That piece of death-worshipping garbage of a Tenerbis has already taken enough of me. My memories won't be added to that list. I may desire punishment, but this is where I pull the line to how far I tolerate my self-pity. But how am I going to get out of this mess. Oh ancestors, how?"

She thought and thought, but after a couple of hours, she still hadn't found any solution. It began to look like she would remain clueless for the rest of her days, and it pained her deeply.

"How the fuck can it be that I, the dumb fuck that ordered this curse in another life, can't even make it stop?"

Slowly, darkness began to set in, making it clear that the evening was starting. A screech of frustration escaped the purple dragoness her throat. Before she could contain herself, she threw herself forward, punching her fists right into the ground. Although she wouldn't let her rage take over again as it did some hours ago, she still couldn't contain a satisfied hum when she punched the living shit out of the ground.

But somehow, it didn't made her more happy, like she intended to. Maybe it was the show of Cynder's affection that showed her the other way of relieving stress, maybe it was the enourmous pressure to come up with a solution. No one would probably ever know. Everything seemed to result back in punching the ground, until Malefor's attention was pulled away from the ground to her right. There, standing between two trees, barely recognizable in the darkness of the night, stood that annoying prick of a Rhyddrech.

"What are you doing here, son of Galvano, son of Gawain? I think I was very clear about the dangers surrounding this place. Is it a custom of your people to refuse good advice, are maybe you are just born that way,"

The green dragon looked a little bit uncomfortable, a nervous smile standing on his muzzle. His eyes seemed to avoid making contact with Malefor's ones, what made the whole ordeal even more uncomfortable for both dragons. The purple dragon's almost felt pity for the guy. He looked so weak and vulnerable, but she did saw the muscles under his scales. Although his muscles weren't that big compared to others, they were still clearly there and Malefor recognized a warrior when she saw one. In a rather akward attempt to start a conversation, she addressed the first thing that came up in her head.

"Sooooooo…euh….arent you afraid of the dangers in these woods? I would leave if I where you."

Blew it.

Within a split second, a cocky, yet still nervous grin made its way on the green dragon his muzzle.

"Oh no, Lady Nandi. I have been trained for years to survive any situation and I have practically grown up here. This is a second home to me, so why wouldn't I be able to survive? I know almost every tree, animal and stone perfectly."

"Still, have you never learned to take good advice when it is given to you?"

"I have learned to never trust the words of a stranger, and you are still a stranger to me. But that can be changed."

Malefor frowned.

"How so?"

" They say that every connection of trust is made by deeds rather than words, but I do not see any reason to bother you with such nonsense, so let's talk. You seem to have nothing better to do, and I certainly haven't, so let's make it cozy here, shall we?"

Malefor frowned deeply. She had no reason whatsoever to trust this bloke, leave alone talk with him. Not forgetting the obvious issue that she would probably kill him if Tenebris his control returned.

"Who says it will come back?" a part of her thought. She immediately scolded herself for such positive naivety. She knew damn well that it would return. The purple dragoness didn't knew when, why, how or with who, but her curse would return. It was a burden she would need to carry forever, although she still hoped otherwise., but she had never been one of the idealistic types. If she took everything in consideration, it would be for the best if she send Rhyddrech away again.

"A little bit of small talk has never hurt anyone." Her naïve side whispered.

Malefor almost face palmed. Just what she needed. Another internal battle between pro's and con's. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Small talk did kill Cyril." She countered, a sharp pain emitting in her chest at the mention of the guardian's name. This seemed to shut her inner voice up, their the wounds on her soul were still to fresh to deny or argue with. It would take time to heal, but not now.

"Whats the matter?"

Looking up, Malefor looked right into the eyes of Rhyddrech. His face, although still nervous, held a certain level of concern. Getting her emotions and facial expressions back under control, she shook her head.

"Just don't ask. Its nothing."

Silence fell upon both of the dragons until Rhyddrech decided to speak up.

"You know, my father once said that how deeper the cuts in one's soul, the more space you have to fill with happiness."

Malefor chuckled a little, but her voice held no joy.

"I think your father has still much to learn in this world."

* * *

 **Here, you have it. This is typed at midnight, so please enjoy. Tomorrow, I leave for a month with something called "De Chiro". I dont know if anyone of you guys knows it, but whatever. I know this is moslty filler, but please, let me know what you thought about this. Develoment for tenebris( I am still not stisfied about that scene, BTW) and for the story as a whole. I also promise you, next chapter will have some actual action for Malefor and the story will finally start rolling. Oh yeah, that frase about the golden chicken? It was a Flemsish saying ( Again). I love my language.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. See ya.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder, matty's.**

 **PTPD**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

 _ **Autumn wind of eve. Blow away the clouds that mass. O'er the moon's pure light. And the mists that cloud our mind. Do thou sweep away as well. Now we disappear. Well, what must we think of it?From the sky we came. Now we may go back . That's at least one point of view.**_

 _ **Hōjō Ujimasa (1538-1590)**_

 _ **Unable to complete this heavy task for our country**_  
 _ **Arrows and bullets all spent, so sad we fall.**_  
 _ **But unless I smite the enemy,**_  
 _ **My body cannot rot in the field.**_  
 _ **Yea, I shall be born again seven times**_  
 _ **And grasp the sword in my hand.**_  
 _ **When ugly weeds cover this island,**_  
 _ **My sole thought shall be [the future of] the Imperial Land.**_

 _ **Tadamichi Kuribayashi (1891-1945)**_

* * *

" I think your father has still much to learn in this world."

"I guess so."

An awkward silence followed. None of the speakers knew what to say to each other. Malefor had nothing she wanted to say, not to this guy anyways. She had never been a pro at small-talk, and to be honest, she had no desire to start becoming better at it. If she had it her way, she would just wish the white dragon away, but life had a weird way of always giving the opposite of what she wanted.

Looking over at the green dragon, he didn't seem to be comfortable too. Although he tried to stand with the decency that belonged with his status, Malefor could look through his façade. His eyes kept looking right above her head, avoiding eye-contact and his shoulders were hanging a little, like he was already halfway submitting himself to Malefor. It reminded her of a child in some ways, but she couldn't be sure. After another minute, Rhyddrech decided to continue the conversation.

"So eh…What brings you to these lands? Your appearance does not remind me of any tribe or culture I know, and you are pretty far away from the closest English-speaking place, so please explain. I haven't encountered someone like you in my whole life."

Malefor had to frown at this. How far was the closest English-speaking city? As far as she knew, the people that lived around the temple spoke English back in her old life, and she saw no reason that it would change, so what was this dragon talking about?

"Excuse me, but what do you mean with that? I am not so far away from other English speaking dragons, I am sure of that."

Now it was Rhyddrech's turn to frown, although careful so he wouldn't insult her.

"I don't know where you think you are, but normally English-speaking dragons do not venture past the Peoznoz Gourin, although I think you guys call it the Twilight Falls. Right now, you are three days of flying away from them, so I would say you have wandered rather far away from your original place."

Malefor frowned again.

"The world changed more than I thought it would." She thought.

Sighing, she decided to ask some more questions.

"Can you please tell me where I am exactly? And use English names, I don't understand a word of your mumblings."

Another tremble went down Rhyddrech's spine when he heard the stern tone she was talking with, again.

"You are in the most northern part of the swamps, close to the boundary of the Artisan empire. To be more exact, you are in the territory of the Withwara tribe, one of many tribes residing here in the area."

Malefor had a great urge to face palm. None of the place names this lad used where places she recognized. A sudden urge to break something came up in her, but she quickly calmed down when she saw that the green dragon in front of her began to back away, scared by her facial expressions. Cooling down, she spoke.

" Calm down, son of Galvano. You seem overly stressed within my company."

A nervous chuckle escaped the green dragons mouth.

" You don't have to worry about that, lady Nandi. It is just that I am not the most socially capable person, so…..Yeah, you get the idea. I haven't been in a conversation with someone in a long time."

"And certainly not with a female." He whispered after it, barely hearable. Sadly enough, Malefor her ears where unfortunate enough to pick up the message and she had to use all her willpower to not lash out to the guy. It was still to confronting, to painful to be remembered of her situation. Also, she still couldn't get her mind around the whole "female" thing. Trying to ignore what he said, she replied.

"Okay Rhyddrech, listen to me. To answer your question, I come from … Warfang, and to explain why I am here would be a story way too long to tell in one day."

"I have all the time of the world."

Malefor her first reflex was to refuse to talk about it, but somewhere deep inside her, something stopped her. Maybe, just maybe, talking would actually help her. Even if she could turn into a bloodthirsty monster every minute now, she couldn't deny that somewhere deep down, it would bring her so much joy to just talk, without any restrictions. Worries, piling up for years, could be explained, rationalized through speaking. She would finally be able to express her feelings about her situation. And, even if she didn't liked to admit it and she probably never would, those few words with Cyril where an experience she hadn't had in years, even if it ended in tragedy.

Still, Malefor couldn't ditch the feeling that history would repeat itself. A small egotistical side of her old self resurfaced however and she shushed her conscience. It was time that she would grant herself something good for once. After one last sigh she talked.

"Okay, you wanted a story, young one? You can have it. My story starts many years ago…."

And so she talked and talked. Hour upon hour passed like it was nothing, Rhyddrech being totally pulled into the story of Malefor's life. From the moment she was born, until she became corrupted and on. This didn't took away that she still told him nothing of her previous life, and some facts were flipped on their head, and Cyril's death was still of limits. She may wanted to release her heart, but trust was still something she wasn't too comfortable with. Another small thing was that she smartly kept herself from saying any name of the persons she told about.

Although she didn't thought it to be likely, she still couldn't know what his reaction would be to names like Cynder's, Tenebris', and her very own real name. It were names that awakened fear in the hearts of everyone who heard them, even without having ever seen any of them in real life. There were only few other names that invoked such fear in the minds of dragons and ape's alike, and this were names of beings long dead, like king Pharamond or just total nutjobs like Gaul and Cleph. She did not know what meaning they held here, so she just left them out. Cynder her name was replaced by the name Dingane. Malefor couldn't quiet remember how she came on the name. It just appeared in her head and she used it. After what seemed like an eternity, she quit speaking, only to notice that the sun was already lowering itself again.

"It seems that I have amused you greatly with my stories, son of Galvano. To my great regret however, I will have to ask you to leave."

Rhyddrech needed some seconds to get out of his trance. He had been so immerged into the story that he had forgotten about everything else. Looking around wildly, he tried to remember where he was and why. Slowly but surely his brain caught up, and he replied.

"I really enjoyed your tale, lady Nandi. And sadly, I can't leave you here."

Malefor's left eye-ridge skyrocketed when she heard that.

"What do you mean? You have no right to force me."

The white dragon responded with a nervous giggle.

"Actually, you are in my terrain, so I have all the right. Secondly, I will admit that your advice to me from this morning had some truth to it. These woods are very deadly at night. Many dark creatures inhabit these lands. It already surprised me that you guys survived this night, and I wouldn't give a single coin for your life if you decide to stay another one."

"I can handle myself well enough, thank you. If these animals you speak of have any love for their lives, they will stay as far from me as possible." Malefor didn't knew if this was her pride speaking, or a warning from her corrupted side. Still, she was very confident that she could fend off any threat that would come to her. Her skills, received after years of fighting were still intact to some extent, and she knew almost every attack imaginable. Before she knew it, a rather confident smile crept on her face. This was one of the first time in years that felt this confident and able to care for herself, and she was proud do it, another small part of her old pride returning. Well, until Rhyddrech opened his damn mouth.

" And what about your sister?"

Fuck. She hadn't thought about that. Apparently, she had clearly displayed her disappointment and anger on her face, cause Rhyddrech became slightly more nervous, although he couldn't help himself to utter..

"Seems like you have not much of a choice."

Malefor growled.

"So it would seem."

* * *

A total silence was lumbering through the halls of the dark mountain of Tenebris. None of the apes dared to move in their respective houses. All the males had already left with their king to attack the place where Spyro was spotted, leaving only females, elderly apes and children behind. Nothing moved in the dull streets and dirty roads crossing between the wooden structures that the apes called homes. Instead, all activity was being centered in one small room, build in the rock at the spike of the immense mountain.

Only high-class apes and dragons were allowed to come here and not many of them could get there, even if they wanted to. It was the room where the dark master made all his plans and gave them to his underlings. Most of the times, a single general or leader was brought to this place, mostly for a private talk with his superior. This mostly ended in the general achieving a new rank, or a new mission, although some others ended up beheaded and skinned, their bones covering the walls of the room as a grim reminder to what would happen if anyone failed.

This time however, there were a total of eleven beings here, making it a very rare occurrence. A long and heavy table stood in the center of the room, surrounded by chairs for apes and pillows for dragons. An enormous map of Avalar decorated the table, surrounded by drawings of lands and places no dragon other than Tenerbis had any knowledge of. This, combined with the dark atmosphere, the bones of their kin and the overall suffocating air made it a horrible place to be. At the moment, only ten beings were already in the room. Six dragons, lying on their pillows with the four apes on the opposite side of the table. Many of them had already been sitting there for quite some time, and after a while some of them started a conversation, probably to keep the dark feelings away that seemed to surround this place like a plague.

"Euuh, okay. Has anyone on this table any knowledge about why we were called to this place?" one of the generals asked. This particular dragon had the typical dark purple scales that were so common amongst dragons that supported the dark master. This one however, had his body covered in yellow drawings of snakes and other reptiles, depicting many battles and epic stories that were told in his native region. His horns had been painted black to look more threatening, each of them being decorated with golden rings punctured through to them, resembling earrings. A large horn stood on the top of his muzzle, also painted black. Although all of these body modifications made his appearance a little bit uncomfortable, no one could be really intimidated by the dragon, thanks to his rather frail body structure, making him look weak against all the other muscled warriors surrounding him.

A sigh sounded through the room, before the dragon on his left answered.

"The dark master will show himself when he pleases, Genseric. He has no reason to listen to lowly beings like us. I thought you would have already figured that out by now."

Genseric his left eye-ridge went up at this.

"Alright, I can understand that, but still. Even you have to admit that this is taking way to long, even for Tenebris his standards. "

Before the dragon on Genseric's left could answer, he heard a light chuckle on his right. Looking at the other end of the table, he saw a dragon that made a shiver go down his spine. Pitch black scales were the only things he could see, covering a body that was bigger and more muscled than any other being in the whole mountain. His black eyes didn't help either, combined with the red iris that surrounded just another black abyss. Even other generals feared this guy, and he had a reputation to match.

This dragon was only used by Tenebris in worst-case scenarios. He was a tactical genius and had saved the dark army many times in battle, but he always had one rule when fighting. Survivors were out of the question. Prisoners were to be executed on the spot, mostly by a cut in the throat, what made the dragons their deaths painful and irreversible at the same time. But females where an oddity when it came to this rule. Although most of them would be executed, some were taken to the generals private room, to do whatever his perverted mind could think of. All in all, he was a very fucked up person. And now he decided to speak.

" Boy oh boy. Only a month on his post as a general and already confident enough to mention the dark master by name. You have some heavy balls on your body kid, or you are really as ignorant as I personally think you are."

Genseric had to keep himself from cowering away. This dragon was famous for killing everyone, and even if he felt some protection by his position, he couldn't be sure enough. Still, he replied.

"What are you implying here, Gunthamund? I thought that you all did this when talking about him, or have you forgotten how you do the same thing yourself?"

A sadistic grin appeared on Gunthamunds face, make almost everyone in the room cower in fear.

" Hey Huneric ? Could you please point something out to mister obvious here? I think he hasn't understood a small detail of this conversation."

Genseric looked back at his right leaving the black dragon sitting on his pillow. Now, he looked at the same dragon he spoke with at the beginning of this conversation, apparently named Huneric. Huneric wasn't physically so much different than any other general. Just like most of the others, he had painted his scales the uniform purple color. The only thing that made him stand out was a rather big scar covering his nose and neck. The pink flesh was a great distraction and disgusting to look at, but eventually everyone got used to it.

" My friend Genseric. I am afraid that I have to agree with Sir Gunthamund on this one. We only use the master's name when mentioning him in a casual conversation, but we never use it when he is around or when we are in his room. He appears to have a kind of…..distaste of the name being mentioned by his generals. I don't know why, but we respect his choice, as should you."

Genseric huffed a little at this.

"But he isn't here now, is he?"

"Is that so?"

Genseric almost shivered out of his scales when he heard the voice. He knew the sound of that low voice as no other. It could only belonged to no one else then..

" M…m..master?" he stuttered. Genseric didn't dare to turn around, knowing what would be there, or rather who would be behind him. Closing his eyes, he prayed to every God he knew. He couldn't die, not now he had finally achieved this position. Not now he had something to live for.

"Yes Genseric. It is me, the dark master. You know, I don't like it when people talk about me in ways I don't want. It is rather interesting that a young dragon like you would already fall for this….inconvenience."

Some seconds of silence passed, and eventually Genseric dared to open his eyes again, surprised to be still alive. When he looked however, his eyes were looking right into the threatening orbs of the dark master. Gasping in fear, he tried to back away, but Tenebris had already locked him in an iron hold. Looking around for help, the poor general could only scream when he saw nothing else then emotionless faces, looking at him without any pity. The only exception was Gunthamund, who had an almost blissful smile on his face, clearly enjoying his misery. Returning his eyes to the ones of the dark master, he whimpered a little, not able to form full words. A feeling of sadness overcame him when he saw the dark master open his mouth. Closing his eyes again, he whispered.

"Please make it quick."

When nothing happened, Genseric opened his eyes for the second time. Before he could clearly look at what was happening, he fell back on his pillow, the iron fist of the dark master releasing him .

"Try to be more sensitive next time. You know that I don't like being rude to others, so I expect the same attitude in return."

Genseric could only nod at the dark master his words. Sitting back up, he looked down at the table, avoiding the many disappointing stares from the other generals. Only exceptions were Huneric, who still showed no emotion next to boredom, and again, Gunthamund, who looked like a pouting kid that had been denied his favorite candy. Trying to hold his composure, he instead focused his eyes on the dark master, who had taken his seat at the head of the table.

"Well gentlemen. I have some interesting things to talk about."

* * *

Another hour had passed, before everything was settled. After some discussions with Rhyddrech, and some pleading stares of Cynder, who conveniently woke up just when Malefor had decided to keep saying no, she complied. Although she still wasn't over the whole Cyril thing, and her fears of corruption hadn't disappeared at all, something inside of her head gave her this spark of trust in the situation, even if a little bit naïve.

" We are ready to leave, son of Galvano. I still don't like this, but it seems that I have no say in the matter." She said, half joking, half glaring at Cynder, who just grinned back in that childish way. Rhyddrech himself couldn't give more than a half-hearted smile, still being nervous around her.

"Alright then, when are we going to fly to your village? I feel almost reborn after such a long and nice nap." Cynder said, a blissful smile staying on her face when thinking about it. Rhyddrech however seemed not to like this idea.

"I am dearly sorry, Dingane, but it is rather dangerous to fly over the swamps at this time. You two were already lucky to fly over it undamaged, and that was by day. At night, many criminals and other filth will use the sky above the swamps to transport things from Warfang to the Tall Plains. Many of them or very aggressive and will kill you on sight." He said, a slight hint of panic in his voice. Malefor scoffed at this.

"And your grandfather allows these criminals to just use his airspace, without any resistance? That seems suspicious to me." The green dragon made a waving gesture, as if he could wave this accusations away.

" Almost fifty percent of my village is in the assassin business. We are famous for it."

Malefor frowned again.

"How come that I have never heard of you guys before?" Rhyddrech almost laughed at this, although the glaring eyes of Malefor made him quit quickly. Still, he couldn't keep himself from remarking.

"We are only famous in the criminal underworld. I mean, be serious. We wouldn't be half as successful if every commoner knew of our existence. We would lose are reputation and you have to know that the competition with the other tribes in this region is crippling. We would starve."

Malefor sighed, still glaring at Rhyddrech.

"So you say that we are in an enormous swamp, inhabited by dangerous murder-tribes and a breeding place for criminals from the whole realm? Fan-fucking-tastic."

Rhyddrech seemed a little bit offended by Malefor's description about his people's main expertise, but Cynder had already waited long enough, and she wasn't keen on another discussion of an hour or two.

"Are we finally going to leave, or will you two keep mumbling until one of those criminals comes flying by?"

Malefor had the urge to react to this, but kept herself quiet. After she and Rhyddrech had both nodded, they started to walk after the green dragon.

"Oh yeah, don't forget to listen to every word I say. When I say run, or hide, you listen without question, understood?"

Although Malefor her pride wasn't too happy to take orders from a youngling, she kept quiet again. There was certain kind of authority that laid in the green dragons voice, probably his father genes coming up for the situation. It remembered everyone in their little group of one little fact.

This was serious.

This didn't took away that deeply hidden in the shadows, another figure kept looking at the group, glaring.

* * *

"Is everything clear now, gentlemen?"

Everyone on the table nodded, to answer to dark master's question. The plans were clear. Tenebris wanted to send most of his troops to Spyro at first, but his generals had advised against it, instead opting for a more subtle way of dealing with the situation. All the ape generals had been appointed to march to Warfang to seek Spyro out, with Gaul as the person in charge of the whole operation.

Tenebris would have liked someone else to do the job, but the position of king still held power in ape-society, even if the king himself was a full-blown moron. Three dragon generals would hide themselves in the lands surrounding the city, as a backup. General Thrasamund had been appointed to the north, Hilderic to the west, and to everyone's dismay, Gunthamund had been appointed to the east. The south was already covered by the apes. The three left over generals, Genseric, Huneric and Gelimer, were appointed the duty to defend the dark mountain while the master was away. This in itself was no easy task, there the apes had a bad reputation if it came to obeying dragons, Tenebris excluded of course.

"Oh, before I forget, has anyone heard anything about my assassins yet?"

All the generals in the room looked at each other, not sure what to say. In all the chaos after receiving news from Spyro's whereabouts, most of them had forgotten about the dark master's lapdogs.

"Excuse us sir, but it has slipped our mind, as the ignorant fools we are. "Huneric said without any emotion. Tenebris only grinned.

"Keep your sweet words for someone else, Huneric. You don't have to fear however. I had already expected this much from you, so I have already sent someone to search for them. I am very sure that he is more capable of finding what I want than anyone else."

Genseric, still scared out of his mind, couldn't keep himself shut however, as he could not keep his curiosity at bay.

"A…and who have you send on this honorable quest, sir?"

Tenebris his grin faded a little.

"I had to choose the most powerful being we have, so I am sorry to tell you that I had to send Cleph."

An awkward silence swept through the room. No dragon or ape dared to say it, but most would have agreed with it.

"Has he released that lunatic?"

"Shit."

* * *

 **YEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAA. Finally, I am back in the game bitches. It has taken some time, but I have finished this brand new chapter. Alright, first I want to give some context with the 'Quotes' above. The first one is made by Hojo Ujimasa, one of the last independant and powerfull samurai to resist the power of the three most powerfull daimyo's in history, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the cruel Oda Nobunaga and the deceptive Tokugawa Ieyasu. The poem was written moments before he killed himself, marking the end of an era.**

 **The next one is from the hands of Tadamichi Kuribayashi. This guy was one of the few Japanese generals to keep his men from Bonzai-attacks( suicide charches) and one of the only generals that wasn't sure about his code of honor, although still following it to the bitter end. Again, this poem was written days before his death. Also the end of an era.**

 **So, here I am. I am not really happy about this chapter. I don't know why, it just feels wrong. Anyway, school will start again within a couple of days, and the "fuifweken" ( Belgian party shedule) are starting again soooo...yeah. I do have to mention that this story has something important to show you guys. It is finally one year ago that I wrote the first chapter of this fic. As it is, I want to thank each and every one of you for staying with me in this adventure, and I hope we will share many more. A special thanks to...**

 **ATToriel, BlackDeath2000, Br2nd66, ClearwingYuta,Chokodrake, Divine the Withered Soul, Dragon Lord of Shadows, FXCF, FluffyDwagy, Fredrik the astral dragon, Guilmon23, Hutcjxwvvu, JOOP-ROLL, Kurama The Platinum Zoroark, LevelNone, Levren, MagnusDerRote, MasterFrench, Maxchiel, Mystycdragon,Outcasts, Plague Dog UnleasheD, Kwentin, Serenity in Virginia, ShadowTheDragon06, Sharkeater85, Snivy24, Tatsuo R, Thunder Emperor Dragon- Batzz, The Silent Insomniac,Lune the Twilight Fox, USMCWannab3, V-SxC, Vaathurnax, X-Shadowheart, booklover41, cooldog32, da Thinker, etest, fan-like-irving, lord typhlosion, nicopop, pin6166, stevensalzman82, and last but not least Theuone. (Just PM me if I left your name out. You will be added later.)**

 **Thank you guys all so much for supporting me and making this worthwhile. I never expected this story to pass 19 follows and maybe 10 favorites, but it went better. Much better. Let's pass another milestone, 50 follows. It is my new goal. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story.**

 **Merci**

 **Danke**

 **Dankuwel**

 **Grazie**

 **Terima Kasih**

 **Kiitos**

 **Tak**

 **PTPD**

 **See ya.**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 11_**

 ** _I need no bodyguard at all, for even the bravest men who approach me get weak at the knees and their hearts turn to water, whilst their heads become giddy and incapable of thinking as the sweat of fear paralyzes them. They know no other will except that of their King, who is something above, and below, this earth._**

 ** _Shaka zulu. (1787-1828)_**

* * *

Minutes seemed to pass like hours while Malefor and her companions where crawling through the woods that led to the village of Rhyddrech's parents. Thanks to the rather low trees and the enormous amount of fern, what made staying hidden very difficult without having to almost bury yourself in them, made their scale colors very clear, ignoring Rhyddrech of course. His green scales seemed to be perfectly matched to the woods surrounding them, giving Malefor the idea that maybe, this guy had painted his scales to this color to go unseen in these woods.

Moments for thinking weren't very common however, her eyes permanently scanning the skies for any appearance for the criminals mentioned by her male companion. Although her mind was occupied enough with this job, she glanced down every now and then to look at how Cynder was doing. To Malefor's surprise, her sister could keep her nerves under amazing control, showing how little her life of pain and suffering had broken her. Disregarding the fact that Malefor knew what laid under this strong façade, it still amazed her how in-control she stayed. It was almost frightening to see how fast she could mature when the circumstances asked for it.

" A real warrior." She thought.

Without any warning or sound, Rhyddrech dropped himself, trying to hide his green body under one of the small trees surrounding them. In the blink of an eye, Cynder and Malefor dropped themselves too, hoping their dark scales would blend in with the dimly lit woods, the moon being the only source of light. Looking up, Malefor saw three dark shapes. All three of them were dragons by the look of it, and they were heading to the direction leading to the old dragon temple. The sound of their wings seemed to echo through the almost silent forest, their conversation loud enough to be followed by the three dragons in hiding. Sadly, Malefor her good ears could only hear yet another language she couldn't identify, making her attempts at indicating their intentions totally useless.

Looking at the reaction of her sister, she saw that Cynder kept her body in check, although her tail trembled a little bit. Rhyddrech however seemed to keep himself hidden perfectly. He blend in a way the purple dragoness couldn't have ever thought of, seemingly one with the nature around him. She could see his ears standing up though, listening carefully to what the three were saying. Minutes passed and the dragons their sound had already disappeared, making Malefor more nervous then she would like to admit. After what seemed to be an eternity, Rhyddrech moved, slowly standing up again.

"We have to go. Now." He said, almost in a whisper. His eyes darted from empty space to empty space in the sky, looking like he searched for some invisible thing.

"What's the matter?" Cynder asked. Malefor nodded to the green dragon, showing she wanted to know too.

"T..That were dragons from the north, Inhabitants of Dante's Freezer. They are by far the toughest and most dangerous dragons in the realm. We need to leave."

Malefor couldn't help but whisper.

"I thought your tribe were the most experienced killesr in the whole realm? You don't say that a skilled assassin like you would be scared for some savages like them?"

Rhyddrech shook his head furiously.

"You don't understand. We kill for a living, because we need to. These guys are in a league of their own. They only support whoever throws the most money at their king, and let us say that whoever does that, does not like or tribe or culture very much. The dragons you just saw where heading to the south, to support some warlord over there."

"And you know that because?" Malefor asked.

"I happen to speak their language. Do you know what 'Ips' and 'Riks' means?"

Malefor and Cynder both answered negative. Rhyddrech sighed.

"It means business and power, two things mostly related to a certain individual in the south. Anyway, we have to leave. Whatever they are going to do is not our business, nor should it be."

Malefor frowned again. Why was her green companion referring to this warlord in such a cryptic way? Was he talking about Tenebris? Likely, but what kind of business would the master of darkness have with some ice dragons from the north? And none of this answered the question why Rhyddrech seemed to know so much about the whole situation. Maybe his village had a very good intelligence service, keeping their chief updated on the politics of Avalar? Malefor remembered to make a mental note to investigate this when they would reach the village of Rhyddrech. It seemed that the green dragon wouldn't get her trust just yet.

Another minute passed and the silence surrounding them became more and more unbearable. It was suffocating, making the three dragons feel like they could snap any moment. As silent as possible they tried to move in the direction of their destination, but it was still a painstakingly slow task. After an hour or so, Rhyddrech stopped walking again, making a downwards motion with his paw. Knowing what it meant, the two purple dragonesses following him dropped down on the ground as fast as possible. The green dragon himself kept his stance low, but he did not drop totally. Instead he crawled slowly and carefully forward to a small bush. Carefully, he looked over the bush, but he dropped down again after only having looked for a millisecond. Panic was clearly evident on his face, and Malefor couldn't help but curse whatever deity she could remember. This was going rather south, and fast.

"Shit" the green dragon whispered.

"They are there, aren't they?" Cynder whispered back, a small hint of anger sounding through. She clearly had enough of this whole thing. Malefor ignored the remark, and instead decided to crawl closer herself. Disregarding the protesting whines of Rhyddrech, telling her to get back, she looked past the bush to see the danger herself. To say that she was impressed was an understatement.

Standing there, where two dragons. Both of them were Ice dragons, sharing many similarities with Cyril, although to Malefor, none of these criminals would ever be able to match the sheer respect, greatness and power she felt when thinking about him. Still, she couldn't deny that they both looked like trained brutes. Their muscles were huge, but their scales were shiny and scratch-less, giving them an aura of sophistication, clashing with their overall job. The first one had extremely small horns on his head, the two usually large backwards pointing horns being a little bit underdeveloped or damaged in an older fight. Malefor couldn't tell.

The second one looked more like your standard ice dragon, although Malefor was pretty sure that this one was a dragoness. Her slim figure was a dead giveaway, and even with all these muscles, she still looked far more small and feminine than her counterpart. Her scales were also one shade darker than the basic looking blue of the other one. Her face was more slender too, and Malefor had to admit she was rather pleasant to look at. What this dragoness lacked in muscles however, was enormously compensated by her natural protection. Her horns and spikes were bigger than most horns Malefor had ever seen and her tail tip was equipped with two rows of spikes surrounding it, instead of the usual single one.

Both of the ice dragons were standing in an open space between some high rocks that slightly resembled the stone structure she had left this same day. This one however, was packed with goods and jewelry from all over Avalar and beyond. The glitter of gold and silver was clearly visible between the stone's and their glitter was only added to by the big fire burning in the center of it all, many pieces of flesh lying around it. This probably meant that they had just eaten and that they were probably preparing for sleep.

To Malefor's slight amusement, she could see the situation over there quiet well, and she almost laughed at what she saw if she hadn't been so nervous. The male dragon was walking around, his front paws waving around, looking like he was telling a story that he himself seemed to enjoy to a certain extent. The female however rolled her eyes at basically every word the guy spoke, being more interested in a good nap than listening any longer to this bloke's ramblings. Her eyes just looked to the center of the fire, an annoyed look on her face.

To Malefor's disappointment however, they were chattering in the same incomprehensible chibberish these other dragons were talking with that they saw flying over. Would they be the same one's? If so, where was the third one?

"Faramanni, eubillo args faral hercym!"

Malefor her blood turned to ice when she heard the scream behind her. For one split second, she didn't knew what to do. Time seemed to slow down, all her worries and fears crushing down on her. What would happen to them? What would these guys do to them? Her stomach made a backflip when she asked her worst question. What would happen to Cynder? Would they kill, torture her, or give her a mercy killing? And Rhyddrech, what would become of him? No, she wouldn't let it end this way. She couldn't let that happen, not to herself, and certainly not to her sister. Even if nor Cynder, nor Rhyddrech knew it, but Malefor still was the most experienced fighter here, having hundreds of years to perfect the craft of fighting. Although her skills weren't what they once were, she still couldn't let this pass without fighting. It was her duty, a repayment for past sins if you will. That's at least how she viewed it.

Snapping out of her trance, she turned around and jumped to her feet, facing the dragon that busted them. He looked very similar to the male one in the stone structure, but this one looked less clean, his scales being dirty, his horns looking scratched and burned to a certain degree, some of his spikes missing. Still, he towered high above them and the look in his eyes wasn't friendly. Malefor wouldn't flinch however, he was a threat and he needed to be dealt with. She wasted no time whatsoever, and she jumped to the dragon, trying to head-butt the big beast to put him out of balance.

His reflexes weren't as bad as Malefor estimated however, and he dodged her move with ease. He hadn't counted on her tail however, that as soon as it passed his face, sliced one big slash over his nose, cheek and eye. A pain filled scream emitted from his throat, his left paw going up to cover the wound on his face. Turning around, Malefor could see the damage she had done. Blood was pouring out of this guy's face, his eye looking more red with the minute. This didn't stop his other eye to glare at her in a way that only meant one thing. Pure, unfiltered bloodlust. Malefor however wasn't impressed by it. Her old fighting insticts, although not on point at the moment, still took over most of her actions, and the violence seemed to trigger something deep inside of her. The pleasure and the rush of life that she felt when fighting, the excitement she would get from violence, all came together right now, and she wouldn't hold back. She had lost control before with Rhyddrech, but this was different. This guy had to be hurt, he had to be wounded, so she could let go of her brakes.

Giving the dragon no time to recover, she jumped forward, aiming for his throat. In a reaction, the dragon covered his weak spot with his paws, leaving all other areas of his body unprotected.

"Perfect."

Malefor kept aiming at his throat until the very last second, when she closed her claws around the left paw of the blue dragon. With one horrible snap, his wrist was dislocated, making the dragon fall to the ground in pain. Turning around again, Malefor tried to put her blade at his throat so he would need to give up. Before she could do this, her eyes were met with the blue dragon's left fist landing right between her eyes. With an enormous amount of power, she was thrown backwards, until her back hit a tree that wasn't going to bend any time soon. Groaning, she tried to get back on her feet, but a blue fist grabbed her throat, blocking her airway. Looking up, she looked right into the dragon his eyes. They were blue, just like the dragon his scales. They looked so much like the ones of …

Cyril.

Malefor began to panic. The eyes seemed to come from a nightmare, right out of the underworld. This couldn't be, and she knew it, but this didn't stop her messed up brain to confuse the two.

"No. " she whispered, barely able to talk. In the matter of seconds, she began to feel a burning anger though her body. This dragon, this moron, thought that he could take on the great Malefor? This retard thought that he could misuse the image, the eyes and the look of Cyril for some dirty mind game?

"No. You aren't him. You are just a dumb fuck that decided to pick on someone way out of your league." Malefor her last bits of control over her aggression faded. Gone was her plan to make this guy submit. No, that wasn't embarrassing enough. She would push his eyes out, cut off his tongue, break of his horns and push them inside a place where the sun wouldn't shine. If this guy played dirty, she would too.

"Die, peace of filth." She growled. The blue dragon himself lifted his right eye ridge, probably not understanding a word of what she was saying. And if he was, he still couldn't understand why she was saying what she was saying. Before the dragon could continue his plan of slowly strangling this purple dragoness, his eye widened when he saw a dark shadow building up in the back of Malefor's throat. Loosening his grip on Malefor's airway, she could see a look of acceptance dawning in his eye, like he knew how this would end. Although Malefor was startled for a second at this guy quick realization, she still mentally scoffed.

"Weak."

A tremble went through the ground when Malefor released her power on the blue dragon, and everyone stopped fighting to look at it. Cynder, who had started a fight with the muscled blue dragon, stared in horror at what was happening. Behind her was Rhyddrech looking rather shocked too, the leftover blue dragoness gawking at the scene unfolding. An enormous stream of black flames poured over Malefor's opponent, seemingly for an eternity. Malefor herself was in a state of perfect bliss. Feeling all this power flow through her veins, tingling every fiber of her being, to being released from her mouth onto this lesser being made her feel so strong, so mighty. Like the old days. Gone were regret and pain, back were fun and proudness. At least for a second, until…

"Mally, what the hell are you doing?"

Stopping her deadly flow of flames, Malefor glared at Cynder. How dare she? This was Malefor's moment. This was her triumph, and this stupid dragoness wanted to put an end to it? The nerve. What stopped her of ending that rude child?

"Look at what you have done. Haven't we killed enough yet as it is? Stop now, before there is no way back, Mally. I beg you, stop."

Slowly but surely, Malefor her head turned to look right at Cynder, and the purple dragoness almost gasped at what she saw. There was her sister, her Mally, with a look in her eyes that remembered her more of the dark master then of the sister she knew and loved.

"Why should I? He is an enemy. He is a threat, and he needs to be put down."

"Just stop, Mally." Cynder begged.

"Enough damage has been done Mally."

Malefor answered with another growl.

"Shut up. You are too young to understand this. You haven't seen the shit I have."

Cynder almost panicked. Had the corruption returned? Was her sister going mad? What was happening? What was she talking about?

" Mally, please stop. Look at what you have done. Do you call that normal."

Malefor her right eye ridge went up, her orbs focusing back at the dragon she had unleashed her power upon. To her disgust, she had to witness the gruesome sight of him. The body of the blue dragon had barely any blue color to it anymore, his scales being roasted and burned until they turned black. His face was the worst of the bunch, most of the scales having cracked under the immense heat. The most damaged scales had fallen off, revealing the disgusting pink flesh underneath, and some of it was also burned by the fire, but to a lesser degree than the scales. To Malefor's surprise however, a groan emitted from the head. This guy was still alive.

Eventually, after some seconds of just useless glaring at the damaged dragon, something began to dawn upon her. To Cynder's joy, the insane look in Malefor's eyes began to fade. Mally herself, felt like she was deflating, although it wasn't air that was leaving her. All her power, all the adrenaline, all her violent tendencies. Gone. They flowed away like a river of insanity, leaving only emptiness. Looking dawn at the horribly wounded dragon, Malefor could only blink. There was no self-pity, no tears or sadness for repeating her past mistake.

Only disappointed.

Malefor barely felt it when one of the remaining blue dragons kicked her to the ground. Somewhere, far away, she could hear the worried screams of Cynder, the panicked voice of Rhyddrech who kept on rambling insults in his own native language. She tried her best to throw the blue dragon of her, but she couldn't find the power to do it. After a last attempt at stabbing the attacker with her tail, she felt a hard punch on her head. Desperately clinging on her consciousness, she could hear the dragon on top of her whisper.

"Analawis eapilo . You will pay for this, bitch."

Malefor could only sigh. It seemed like nothing else could help anyway.

* * *

Genseric was standing at the entrance of Mount Tenebris. His position was on a rather high balcony, hanging over the enormous gate that guarded the way into the mountain. Looking down, he saw an imposing amount of apes and dragons march out of the gate, going at the direction of Warfang. Every division had its members painted purple, although small streaks of some emblem were also common to distinguish each other on the battlefield.

At the start of the long wave of warriors, stood three dragons. One purple dragon, Two black dragon's , and in front of them, the threatening green form of their leader. Genseric was taken aback by the amount of soldiers he saw. He had never seen this much strength concentrated in one place, and was slightly frightened by the sheer power that his master possessed.

Many more apes and dragons poured out of the mountain, until it seemed that all the lands in front of the mountain were filled with battle-ready, bloodthirsty savages. When the last ape put his foot outside of the gate, it closed itself with a loud bang. The balcony were Genseric was standing shook heavily, making him almost lose his balance. With some concentration, Genseric succeeded in staying on his paws. Looking back up at the army before him, he could see that the dark master was now flying over his troops, accompanied by the three other dragons. A wave of silence washed over the ranks of the soldiers and everyone became quiet, eager to listen to their master.

Genseric was confused when he heard Tenerbis give his speech, but he couldn't recognize a word that came out of his master's mouth. Still, even with the language barrier in place, the general could still feel the dark and uncomfortable feeling that he usually got when his master spoke. The tone, the venom that accompanied the words, the aggression in Tenebris his voice were all things that added to this feeling. After what seemed like an hour, Tenebris his voice stopped with booming over everyone's heads. Now another dragon, one of the two black dragons accompanying Tenerbis, went to the foreground to speak. To Genseric's dismay, it was Gunthamund. And just like his master, he spoke in yet another language Genseric couldn't understand. The general sighed.

"Impressive isn't it?"

Genseric turned his eyes away from the battle forces to look at the person speaking. To his surprise, it was Huneric. The scarred general wasn't looking at him though. His concentration and focus were totally pointed at Gunthamund, seemingly understanding what was being said. Genseric scoffed silently.

"Impressive as it may be, I can't comprehend a single word they're saying. It all sounds like gibberish to me."

Huneric looked at Genseric, his eyes holding a disapproving look at the improper way of describing the master's speech, but he let it go for now. Genseric was young and had still much to learn. And Huneric would help him a little bit.

"Tenerbis was speaking the language spoken by northern apes. They tend to listen better when you speak to them in their native tongue. And Gunthamund is speaking the language spoken by the dragon's inhabiting Dante's freezer. If I am correct, Thrasamund will speak to them in basic English."

Genseric frowned a little.

"Why do they know these languages?"

Huneric replied casually, without any emotion in his voice.

"They speak in their native tongues. Many dragons and apes you see in this army are not from this part of the realm and speak nor understand proper English. That's why every general speaks in his own language. This shapes a bond of brothers in arms between the leader and his warriors. It gives them the feeling that their general is one of them, a friend, a companion, an image of strength and power that supports them in these dark times. They are willingly to die for them, just as their leaders are willingly to die for their soldiers."

Genseric scoffed again.

"Sounds poetic." He said, grinning a little bit. Huneric ignored the grin, instead choosing to make a remark of his own.

"Some things go deeper than just mere tactics. You could be surprised of what you can achieve when you have brethren on your side. It can make the weak stronger and the strong ones invincible. It is one of the few bright sides of the battlefield. It forms connections, relations that never fade. Friends for life."

Genseric looked at Huneric's face a little bit closer. He was confused. Weren't generals supposed to be feared? Wasn't Tenebris feared? He had thought that the dark master's power solely rested upon his scare tactics and the geniuses in his generals compartment.

"Do the soldiers really respect Tenerbis? Or Gunthamund for that matter? Do they really think that those guys are one of them?"

Huneric nodded.

"You have to remember, my colleague, that the only ones seeing their dark side are the people fighting them and us. The warriors do see the results of the slaughtering's, but they are never sure that it was their master who did it, and that's the key to it all. By keeping the apes and dragon's in doubt, they will believe, against all odds and against better judgment, that there is this one small chances that maybe it wasn't the dark master who did all this. And they have no real choice either. From the moment you join the master, there is no turning back. They may know how bloodthirsty their leader is, but from the standpoint of the apes, they finally have someone who promised them a better life. Someone who comes up for their cause. It has been since Pharamond's days that apes where treated as equals to the dragons. Maybe, they are treated as shit here, but at least on the same level of shit as the dragons here are."

Genseric looked back at the army. Did all these beings really believed this? Were they really loyal to the death? Would they go to the underworld and back for their leaders? He found it hard to believe. All he saw was one big bunch of adventure seekers and opportunists who tried to get their part of the glory.

The purple general thought for some moments, still looking at the army of apes , dragons and as he could see now, a very small amount of cheetah's as well. At that moment, Gunthamund had quit talking, making place for a similar looking black dragoness. Her name was Thrasamund if he remembered correctly. Her speech was in English.

"Dragons of the south, listen to me. There is only one thing I ask of you. Sacrifice. To some of you, it is just a word. For others it is a code. For me, it is a duty. Each and every one of you, are soldiers from all over the realm, are here to end the terror of the purple monster, the abomination of mother nature itself. The spit from the underworld, lower than the dirt under your paws.

Spyro.

This disgusting being has killed many of us, teared so many families apart. He slayed your friends, brothers, sisters, parents and children. He destroyed or homes and killed or ancestors. Since the dawn of time, the purple dragon has been a staple of misery and suffering. That's why we fight . To end this, once and for all. And that's why I ask you for only one thing.

Sacrifice.

As real soldiers, you all know that the life of an individual being, no matter his background or rang, doesn't matter. What matters is your family, your hometown, the future of our realm. You have to be prepared to live for this goal, fight for this goal and to die for this goal. It's the only way that we can clear this world form its flaws. I know that I ask much of you, but fear not. Your death won't be in vain. There is a paradise waiting for every soldier who brings a head to me, and much more for the one that brings me the skin of the purple dragon himself. So follow me, my warriors. Let's go to war."

Thrasamund her voice had barely faded away, or the whole army, seemingly as one, began to scream their supports. All languages were heard, all kinds of weapons were thrown or held up in the air, all kinds of war gods were called upon and many shouted as many insults as they could, mostly referring to the purple dragon. Spyro. Although some warriors seemed not to enthusiastic about the whole ordeal, most of them were clearly ready to follow their general to the battlefield.

"I will ask you again, impressive isn't it?"

Genseric only vaguely heard the words from Huneric. He was to overwhelmed by the sheer might he witnessed.

"Yeah…It is."

Huneric walked forward until he stood next to his colleague.

"And kind of sad in a way." He said. Genseric frowned a little.

"How so."

Huneric smiled a little bit, the sad undertone still remaining.

"This is truly the end of an era. We are probably witnessing the biggest event since the death of king Pharamond, but still I can't help but feel sad. It makes us so…..insignificant. What will the history scrolls write about this? "

Genseric shrugged.

"They will probably hail us. I mean, we will be the first to kill a purple dragon. We will bring peace to the realm."

The other general shook his head lightly.

"History is written by the victors, and it is still the question if we will win."

"But aren't we in an advantage? We have a better strategy, better warriors, and more men in general. What could they possibly do to hurt us?"

Now, Huneric turned fully, looking Genseric right into his eyes. Genseric began to get uncomfortable with the other general being this close to him, his eyes seemingly drilling in his soul.

"Never underestimate and cease to respect their desire to put your life to an end, Genseric. They are just as dangerous as Gunthamund and Tenerbis at their worst. They will fight, and we will have to battle them. Just look out that they don't get to you before you get to them."

With this, Huneric left the other general alone on the balcony, as he walked away, having said enough. Genseric himself looked back at the troops, the general Hilderic screaming his speech. But he didn't listen. His mind was sinking away in a sea of thoughts and ideas he never really considered before. Eventually, he sighed and grabbed his head between his front paws.

" I need a break."

* * *

 **Firstly, I will give the translations for the language I used this chapter. It was Burgundian for everyone who cares.**

 **The first sentence means=Travellers, small weak childish travellers over here.**

 **The second one means= Betraying child.**

 **Anyway, I am happy to be able to finish the chapter. As you can see, there is some character development happening for Genseric, Huneric and Cynder. Hooray. I am, however, sad to say that my writing time will be reduced. My school has ordered me to write an essay about the christianisation of Flanders (Dutch:Vlaanderen, Flemish accent; Vleundren) and it takes a lot of time. Why they force a bunch of 16 year olds to write an essay, I have no idea but whatever. I just hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I think this one is an improvement over my previous chapter. I have no real reason for it, it just feels better. As a side note, in the original draft of this thing, Rhyddrech died and they would already meet Spyro. Interesting.**

 **Goei dagske nog verder**

 **See ya**

 **PTPD**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

 _ **If everyone in the world will love universally; states not attacking one another; houses not disturbing one another; thieves and robbers becoming extinct; emperor and ministers, fathers and sons, all being affectionate and filial - if all this comes to pass the world will be orderly. Therefore, how can the wise man who has charge of governing the empire fail to restrain hate and encourage love? So, when there is universal love in the world it will be orderly, and when there is mutual hate in the world it will be disorderly.**_

 _ **Mozi (470 BC-391 BC)**_

* * *

A burning headache welcomed Malefor on her return to the realm of consciousness. It felt like a thousand needles piercing her skull, brutally poking and stabbing her brain akin to a maniac. Although the pain began to fade from the moment her mind began to work properly, she still couldn't react immediately, and a hiss escaped her mouth when her front paws weren't responding to her command to grab her head between them. Slowly, she opened her eyes, searching for the source of her struggle.

The first thing she saw was a red glow in front of her. For some reason, if felt rather uncomfortable to look at it for some time, but she refused to look away. Trying to focus her eyes, she saw that a small camp fire was burning five meters away from her. Against the bright light, she could see a figure sitting behind it in the darkness of the night, but there was nothing that indicated who it actually was.

As in a reflex, her paws tried to come forward, but she hissed again when she felt the already expected rope keeping her firmly attached to the tree she was against with her back. She couldn't see yet what material the rope was made of, but it was probably fire proof. This didn't help her headache however, and she cursed under her breath, trying to get some of her frustration out of her. Through her pain, she could hear something moving , but she didn't care that much. Her brain was feeling like a volcano on the verge of exploding, so she had better things to get angry about.

This only made her surprised more greater when eventually, something happened. Two fingers took her muzzle in a tight grip, one finger on top of her nose and the other under her chin, keeping her mouth shut. Angry at such a humiliating and childish treatment, Malefor tried to open her mouth to demand release, but to her confusion, she couldn't break through the iron grip.

"Frodjan. You can't beat me, fuck face. It takes more than some fancy fire tricks to get dragons of my kind to our ancestors. You got Alboin good, but you won't pull that off twice."

Malefor aimed her angry yellow eyes right at the source of the voice, and she was surprised to look right into a pair of light blue eyes. It was the blue female from the campfire. The purple dragoness grinned a little bit when she saw the slight disgust and shock in the female's eyes at seeing her slit-like pupils.

"Well….., you are a rather nasty one, aren't you?"

"Don't know the half of it." Malefor tried to say, although it came out as a mumble. The blue dragoness didn't seem interested in what she had to say however. Instead, she began to force Malefor's head in al kind of positions, apparently studying her features and looks.

"Say what you want, but you have a body to kill for. I think someone of the Withwara tribe will pay a lot of money to show you a good time, little girl."

Malefor her eyes widened in shock. This dragoness, this insolent bitch, she wasn't really talking about….

"Prostitution?" another voice said. Malefor and the blue dragoness both looked sideways so they could face the person talking. Another purple dragoness was laying there, attached to the three by the same rope that held Malefor back. To her relief it was Cynder, who looked like she hadn't been harmed too much, disregarding some scratches.

"You aren't really going to sell us to be used by some perverted freaks? " The purple dragoness said, a hint of fear and disgust sounding through her voice.

"I am sorry dear, but after your friend here mutilated my brother, I have to say that my empathy for you both has been reduced to zero." The blue lizard sneered.

"Although I have to say that I feel a little bit sorry for you, small one." She said to Cynder.

"You weren't the one committing the crime, but guilt by association is still guilt. And I am going to be very honest with you two, I need you bitches to release some of my...tension upon. It is not funny to see your sibling suffer, but you will experience the same feeling within some minutes, I promise you. We will just wait for Agilulf to return, and the fun can begin."

Malefor wasn't satisfied with this explanation though.

"Who are you? You have no right to keep us here. We have some better things to do than to make you money."

The blue dragoness only laughed at this.

"I have all the right, you cunt. I won't let me be commanded by some slimy dragoness from the south, to pompous and high-classed to get things done by herself."

"Release me, and you will know how pompous I can be." Malefor replied.

The blue dragoness just scoffed.

"I would like to see you try."

Without giving any more attention to the two purple sisters, she went back to her spot and sat down again. Malefor wasn't looking at her however. Her mind was thinking and analyzing the situation, trying to find a way out of this, but it didn't seem like she had many options at the moment. Apparently, these three dragons were siblings, or at least related in some way, and she severely wounded the brother of this female one.

Malefor could very well remember her own emotions regarding such a situation, and she could perfectly understand why this dragoness would hold these thoughts. This didn't mean that she wouldn't try to stop it from happening, if only to spare Cynder the pain. She had to admit though, that she herself was getting very tired too from all the physical abuse through the years.

"I am sorry, Mally."

Malefor looked at her right to look at Cynder. What was she talking about?

"About what, dear sister?"

Cynder sniffed a little.

"About getting us in this shit storm. If I hadn't stopped you, we could have won the fight and we wouldn't have been in this situation. That's why I say sorry. But, I….I just couldn't see you like that. I couldn't let you go down that path. Not again."

In the dim light of the fire, Malefor could see a single tear rolling down Cynder's cheeks, seemingly a pearl rolling down her face, reflecting the light of the moon and the fire. This single piece of emotion touched Malefor somewhere deep inside, a place she knew all too well, but had forgotten about in her years as a dark master. Empathy.

"You don't have to be sorry, Cynder. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have killed that dragon, and the ancestors know what would have happened to us then. Maybe, just maybe, we can get out of here."

Cynder nodded, although weakly, not very convinced that they would succeed. Still, a small smile appeared on her face, quickly replaced with a frown.

"That's all good and all, but what about Rhyddrech?"

Malefor stopped her thinking for a moment. She had totally forgotten about the dragon that had led them to here in the first place. One mental face palm later, she looked around, trying to find her companion, but she couldn't find him anywhere. Eventually, she took the last source of information.

"Euhmm, Lady blue dragoness, could you please tell us were our friend is being held captive? It wouldn't be to much of a bother to you, would it?"

To Malefor's irritation, the blue dragoness didn't move are talk in the slightest, seemingly obvious to the question asked, or ignoring it outright.

"Excuse me, I am talking to you." She said a little bit louder and with more anger in her voice. Lightly surprised, the blue dragoness looked up like she had been stung on the head by a bee.

"What did you just say?" she asked, her eyes displaying anger and aggression. Malefor wasn't imposed however. This dragoness would need to do much more to scare her.

"I asked you were my friend was…."

"I have heard that already. But how did you call me again?" the blue dragoness spat, interrupting Malefor her question. This was off-putting to the purple dragoness, but it quickly turned to anger. The lack of manners this dragoness had were frustrating to her, and she began to get very irritated.

"Listen, lady, I do not want to be rude but…"

"What was that?"

"You are interrupting me ag….."

"Lady? Did you just called me a fucking lady?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Malefor wasn't quiet understanding the situation. She had had just used the proper term to address a dragoness, but this one seemed furious about it. If she wouldn't have known better, she would have sworn that steam was shooting out of her ears and nose. Her eyes were wide open, beaming imaginary flames of death at her. Within the blink of an eye, the dragoness had crossed the open space between her and her prisoners, coming straight for Malefor.

Grabbing her muzzle again, her other paw grabbed Malefor's throat. The sudden attack only angered and confused the purple dragoness even more, and eventually, from Cynder's standpoint, she could only see two dragonesses, both furious, glaring at each other with enough aggression to put the dark master to shame.

"Call me a woman again, only once, and I will rip your heart out." The blue dragoness spat, spit ending on Malefor's face.

Malefor didn't understood the situation, and it kept getting weirder with every word of the blue dragoness. Was this a feminist thing? Malefor didn't knew, but she didn't really care either. Her anger was already to immense to even try to think about such a possibility.

"Lady. A fucking woman. Are you serious? Do I look female to you, ay? Do I?"

With one big build up, Malefor succeeded at getting her mouth open, and she spit one big ball of drool and spit, combined with some ashes in the dragoness her face. A scream of rage emitted from the blue dragoness her mouth, releasing Malefor's throat so she could get the drool of her face. When she looked back at the purple dragoness, she almost exploded when she saw the satisfied grin on the dragoness her muzzle.

"That does it. Say goodbye to your beautiful face, bitch, because you aren't going to recognize it when I am ready with you."

Her now free hand positioned itself above Malefor, and it came down with much more power than the former dark master had expected from such a fragile dragoness. A muffled moan came from her maw when the blue dragoness her claw made one big slash over her forehead, damaging the tattoo situated there. Blood began to drip over her head, leaking into her eyes and mouth, making her squirm more, trying to get her claws at the blue dragoness to repay the favor. Sadly enough, she couldn't.

"I bet there will be some sickos too who like to fuck a disfigured whore, don't you agree?"

Malefor only growled in return. Cynder at her tree just kept screaming at the blue dragoness that she had to stop, but in vain. It only seemed to piss her off even more.

"This was only the appetizer. Here comes my real magnum opus, dry slut"

Her claw positioned itself again above Malefor's head, making itself ready for another slash.

"Authari. Anaikan banja blips."

The female dragoness didn't turn around to answer the voice, that from Malefor's standpoint seemed to come from nowhere, the person speaking probably still hidden behind the thick wall of trees that surrounded them. This didn't stop the blue dragoness from answering however, growling something in that incomprehensible tongue of hers. Malefor and Cynder could only look and wait when the blue dragoness started to have a whole discussion with the hidden dragon, not leaving her position in front of the former dark master.

Her eyes kept their sharp focus directed at the captured purple dragoness, and Malefor knew that only the smallest excuse would be used by this female to hurt her in ways way worse than the rather weak scar on her forehead. The blood began to get more and more annoying with the minute however, her eyes starting to feel sticky thanks to her own red bodily fluid dripping in them. Her anger and frustration were still high, and she wasn't all too happy either with the situation getting more and more confusing to her with the minute.

As someone with a rather demanding and dominating character, it was a horrible feeling to feel the situation slip through her controlling claws. It didn't help that this side of her had been suppressed for years under Tenebris' spell, and it felt…..wrong to see the scene before her unfold, totally out of her reach.

Malefor her attention was drawn away from these thoughts by a sound on her left-side. She tried to look at it by turning her head, but the blue dragoness grabbed her head tightly again, enabling her to see what was happening next to her. Now, the blue dragoness did look at the person speaking however. Her voice sounded very angry, in comparisment with the other voice, the speaker of whom seemed to be way calmer than the hysterical and screeching voice boiling out of the female her mouth. This didn't calm her though, the tension in the woods rising to a point it was almost suffocating.

Eventually, the speaker came close enough so Malefor could look at the person that was buying her very valuable time. To her surprise, it was the other blue dragon, the one with the muscles. If her memory served her right, she thought that the blue dragoness had named one of her companions Agilulf, or something along those lines, but she didn't knew for sure if this was him. It didn't really matter, because if this was him, then she and her sister were officially fucked. Now they would have to deal with two dragons that were both out for their skins.

"This situation is getting more and more complicated as time passes by. Ancestors, help me." Malefor thought, sighing mentally. While thinking this, the situation in front of her became more and chaotic, both dragons just rambling to each other, although the male one was way calmer and more collected then his female counterpart.

The conversation seemed to become much more heated when the female realized that she was going nowhere with her argument, and in her anger she screamed something that brought a smile to the other one's face. A smile that slowly morphed into a full laugh, to the dragoness her dismay. She didn't talk anymore tough. Instead, she decided that everyone in the whole world could kiss her scaly ass for the moment, turning her back at the blue dragon and their prisoners. The male didn't seem to bothered by the whole ordeal, instead opting to focus his full attention on Malefor.

"You have really fucked with him, you know? There haven't been too many dragons like you, that can claim to be still alive after insulting him like that."

Malefor frowned, and now her mouth was free, she would let all her questions roam freely.

"What are you talking about? What is happening here?" she asked. Agilulf was quick to reply.

"You have made a big mistake, purple dragoness, and although it was an understandable one, I do not think you will be forgiven any time soon. I think you will be very surprised to hear that the so-called dragoness you just insulted isn't a dragoness at all. She, or actually he, is a total male, and there is nothing biologically female about him."

Malefor didn't really knew what to say. This had to be a joke, and a really bad one at that. There was no way in the underworld that this strong and pleasantly looking dragoness was a male. It couldn't be true. The purple dragoness looked at the slender and shiny blue back of this so called male, frowning deeply.

"You would be better off if you stopped staring at him. Authari doesn't like it when people stare at him, and certainly not when said people insulted him based on his manhood."

Authari only huffed angry, a small cloud of snow shooting out of his nostrils. Unknown to him, this move could have looked rather intimidating when it would have been a more …manly dragon standing there, but in this case, the snowy cloud only accentuated the shiny and sleek scales of the blue dragon, making him look more cute and sweet than the threatening beast he wanted to be.

Still, his outburst from some seconds ago had made it very clear that he wasn't someone who could be pushed over like the innocent thing he looked like. Malefor would almost say that Authari possessed a more psychotic side when he was angry, although the painful and touchy subject matter could have been the cause of that. Whatever the case was, both purple dragonesses were still hanging against the tree's, and their situation hadn't improved much.

Still, being captured without some murderess female lookalike at your throat was nice.

"You are lucky that I came in time. He would have hurt you badly." Agilulf said. Cynder however, still had a question about the matter.

"Why help us at all?" Agilulf grinned at this.

"It's just a principal of not damaging the goods, if you know what I mean. You may have scorned Alboin up pretty bad, but he will live. I am sure about that, and as long as we get our gold for delivering you, we won't complain."

Malefor huffed.

"You are a disgusting, pathetic waste of breathing space. You are the personification of all that is wrong in this realm. Rotten to the core. I hope that you know that."

Although she hadn't meant her words that serious, it was more a way of letting her pent up aggression and frustration go, Agilulf's face turned from the slightly amused grin from some seconds ago to a stone-cold expression, all amusement leaving his facial features. His eyes now looked right into Malefor's, his pupils becoming smaller with every passing second. A dark shadow seemed to brew inside the dragon's orbs, and Malefor didn't like it one bit.

"Bold statements coming from someone like you."

* * *

Rhyddrech tried to hide his face between his paws, but nothing could prepare him for the brutal punch that landed on the back of his skull. An immense jolt of pain travelled through his body, and his spine was barely able to keep itself together. With an enormous crash, he was thrown against a stone wall, the strong structure trembling on its foundations.

"B..B…..But dad, I didn't meant it that way. I was just helping them out. I couldn't predict that…."

His sentence was cut short by another punch on his mouth, some teeth giving up their fierce last stand and falling down on the ground in the ever enlarging puddle of blood.

"Please dad. I didn't knew. I really didn't. Believe me."

The enormous green dragon standing next to the young and broken body didn't even care to answer, instead turning around to another green dragon standing at the doorstep of the building. He huffed when he recognized his daughter, looking at him with a familiar look of disappointment. Nothing was said between them, until the daughter sighed deeply, looking at the ground.

"Not again dad. I thought you would have grown out of it by now."

There was a hint of sadness in her voice, although the overall tone was more neutral than really judging the events playing out in front of her.

"Leave us alone Tenkamin. This is a business between me and Rhyddrech."

The dragoness sighed again.

"He still is your son you know."

Galvano scolded at this remark.

"Don't remember me of that, daughter of mine. Spare me the shame."

Instead of continuing looking at how her father returned to beat the living shit out of Rhyddrech, Tenkamine turned around and flew away. She had seen this enough times before to know where, when and how this whole ordeal would end, and she didn't want to see it all again. She pushed her body to the max, her wings flapping and pulling like so many nights before, until she was high enough so no one out of her village would notice her. After hanging on one place for some minutes, she decided to calm her mind a little. Looking around to navigate herself, she spotted the place where she needed to be. Many miles away from her village, at the far end of the surrounding forest, she saw an open space in the thick blanket of trees.

There, far away from her current position, was the grave of the first king of their tribe, Galam Cennalath. His grave was nothing more than a house-like shaped building, with his body buried under its heavy rocks. There were many structures like this in the forest, every king of almost every tribe in the swamps being buried in the ocean of trees. Ironically, at such a place, Tenkamin felt herself more at peace than anywhere else. It made her feel so insignificant and meaningless in history, and she had to admit that she felt rather comfortable with leading a meaningless and normal life. If she could, that was.

It gave her the feeling that she had nothing to prove, nothing to say and nothing to worry about. Who was she, next to someone who had singlehandedly build their town between the dark trees in a time that the shadow of Pharamond's rule hadn't left yet? Who was she, next to the person who created the strongest tribal force of the whole realm? Galam had fought against many armies of dragons, apes, the power of Warfang and even the gods themselves to give his people peace for eternity, and still he found it in himself in all his goodness to create the heaven that was her hometown.

"May his light shine upon us." Was what the priest's in her town always said, but Tenkamin preferred his shadow more. Reasons enough to hide in the comforting darkness of his grave whenever his descendants decided that punching their kids was the right thing to do. She really wasn't the person to become sentimental and philosophical about stuff, but this was one of her guilty pleasures. Or means of escape, like today.

As fast as her strong and powerful wings could carry her, she raced to the place, leaving her home alone. At least, until she noticed a fire burning in the woods. Although it were probably just criminals, likely coming from Dante's Freezer with some goods for the southern tribes in the swamps. Nothing special about that. Still, she needed to investigate this. Maybe, it could give her some much needed action and energy, to get her mind away from the situation at home. And a good fight was always welcome to a proud Withwara warrior in her prime.

Coming closer to the fire, she could already hear the loud and obnoxious voice of a person clearly speaking the language of the northern ice dragons, and the accent was clearly from the area surrounding Dante's Freezer.

"Nice prediction, even if I say so myself. " she whispered, a small grin gracing her muzzle.

Listening carefully to the words spoken, Tenkamin could kind of figure out what was happening, although she began to get confused when more than eighty percent of the words became insults of some sort. Whoever was speaking at the moment, male or female she couldn't tell, was getting really worked up about something. Her surprise and confusion became worse when she heard another voice entering the conversation, and this one was clearly female. And to top it all off, the voice spoke English in an accent used by the dragons living in the high society of Warfang, of all places.

"That is one fish that is way out of her pond." She thought. Again, the voice's seemed to become more and more aggressive, until one sentence seemed to derail the whole conversation.

"Bold statements coming from someone like you. "

Whatever this meant, Tenkamin didn't knew for sure, but she didn't care that much either. She had wasted her time long enough.

Time to do some inspection. And, like the proud warrior she was, as dramatic as possible of course. She hovered herself until she was right above the camp fire, and after checking her landing and first-to-drop-cheap-ass-one-liner for the last time, she tucked her wings against her body, plummeting to the ground.

At the very last second, she opened them again to slow herself just enough to not break her legs. With a crash even the gods couldn't replicate, she landed in the fire, making dust and smoke fly to all the directions. The fire blew out thanks to the air and wind produced with her landing, covering the surrounding area in smoke and the darkness of the night.

"Who is there?" She heard the English voice ask.

"Your worst nightmare, forzh." her voice whispered.

"And now explain yourself and your purpose before I rip your throats out."

From somewhere behind the smoke, she could hear the English voice, curse under its breath.

"Oh, in the name of the ancestors, please end me now and release me from this madness. My brain can't keep up with all this." The voice said, a sarcastic and melodramatic undertone putting Tenkamin out of 'her moment'.

"Who the fuck are you?" she heard the sexless voice mutter behind her. Trying to heighten her head, she proudly exclaimed.

"Tenkamin, daughter of Galvano, daughter of Gawain and glory full descendant of Galam Cennalath, king of the Withwara tribe. And who are you, if I may ask?"

"Open your eyes, dear princess, and you will recognize us." Agilulf's voice said. Tenkamin did what was asked from her, and a scowl of disgust appeared on her features.

"What are you guys doing here?" she almost screamed, anger accompanying her words.

Authari scoffed again. "Lets the exposition begin, dear brother of mine."

* * *

 **Okay, here are the Burgundian translations for everyone who cares.**

 **Frodjan= Be wise.**

 **Anaikan banja blips= Have mercy ( or"have a erciful punch" depending on your source).**

 **Here is the Bretons translation.**

 **Forzh= cunt**

 **Okay, so before I end this, I do have to say that the only reason I could write this was that I have one week of vacation to spend. In that time I have to finish my essay, jam and record with my band, get my drivers-license for my Suzuki and help with creating a big "fuif" ( kind of party, mostly held in a circus-tent or in a large building. There is no age restriction on the alcohol, a fact that creates some very fun experiences.) and I have to work for school, because my exams won't be that good if I do not perform well on my French exam. Anyway, if you don't care about this ( and you probably do) then...just ignore these past sentences.**

 **I also want to say that Alboin, Agilulf and Authari are all brothers, if you hadn't figured it out by now. I just want to make that very clear.**

 **Another funny thing. This is the first chapter in ages that focusses just on Malefor. Many of the past chapters have some scene with the vilians in them, bit this one hasn't. I am planning to make one chapter fully dedicated to them tough, but that one will have to wait for some time. This story is about Malefor after all.**

 **All comments are appreciated**

 **Goe dagske nog verder.**

 **PTPD**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13**_

 _ **It occurred to me that there have always been selkie women: women who did not seem to belong to this world, because they did not fit into prevailing notions of what women were supposed to be. And if you did not fit into those notions, in some sense you weren't a woman. Weren't even quite human.**_

 _ **Theodora (500-548)**_

* * *

"Let the exposition begin, Agilulf."

Agilulf sighed deeply. He hadn't signed up for this. the blue dragon could take the burden of dealing with his brothers on a daily basis, maybe some accidently imprisoned dragonesses to sell in the prostitution industry, and his feminine brother losing his temper. He could deal with all that with relative ease. If you want to be a successful smuggler, you need to have a thick skin after all. Still, this was getting a little bit out of hand. He hadn't counted on a confrontation with the locals, leave alone with one of their royals. And one he knew very well.

As someone who travelled these lands a lot, he knew much of the history and kings of the region, and he knew messing with a Withwara warrior was not something you had to take lightly. Yes, he could fight, but nothing compared to Tenkamin, the famous granddaughter of Gawain. He had met her might before, and it wasn't a fun experience to have. This however, could also be used as an opportunity. And the blue dragon wasn't someone to skip on opportunities.

"Let's all settle down and get calm. As you can all see, the situation calls for some much needed explanation, and I believe I can give some."

Tenkamin growled.

"You have nothing to explain, stupid rat. Haven't we made it clear enough last time that we won't stand the sight of your face for one minute longer in our town. Your brothers may enter these woods, but you have no right being here. I hope your explanation is thought out well, because I am not in the mood for lies from some low-life northern criminal."

Agilulf grinned a little bit. Everything was going as planned. And hey, he still lived after demanding something from a princess from the same bloodline as Gawain. A lot of prayers to the gods would be needed to repay for such a blessing.

"Thanks, daughter of Gawain. Well, I will warn you, your highness. This is going to be a rather long story."

Tenkamin sighed, but did nothing more than and Cynder were to busy with trying to escape to notice the tense situation, although Malefor kept one of her ears listening to the conversation. This could become interesting.

"Well, this story begins many months ago. Me and my dearest bro…."

"Get on with it Agilulf. I don't think the interrogators in my town would give you this much time before ripping your tongue out, so cut the crap and try to save yourself now you still can."

Algilulf nodded, a grin still on his face, like he had everything under control. Malefor, having nothing better to do since escaping didn't seem to work that well, tried to find a trace of panic in the blue dragon his eyes, but she couldn't find any. He was as calm as a dragon could be in this situation, his behavior leaning more to an almost arrogant attitude. Another thing she noticed was that he seemed totally okay and almost familiar with the presence of Tenkamin. These two had met before, that was something that was undeniable.

The purple dragoness made a mental note of all this personal intel. She had been a wonderful manipulator back in her heyday, and this conversation was giving her exactly the tools she needed. Her attention was broken however by a sound at her right, sounding like a dragon with asthma, trying to breath. In reality it was Authari. His face was contorting in a multitude of enraged expressions, all directed at Tenkamin. At first sight, it looked like he desperately wanted to say something to the princess, but her status or her overall imposing figure kept him from actually expressing his frustration. Still, he wasn't very subtile about it.

"We have come from our northern home to trade with your town, your highness. We have stolen plenty of gold and jewelry from the Artisan empire, and we are very honored to present it to you. We also give you these two slaves. They can be used as potential sources of pleasure to release your warriors after a hard day of practice. They also possess the color of purple, a rare and exotic touch on their already stunning bodies. They would be a fine addition to your grandfathers harem, if it's not a bold thing to say."

Agilulf seemed to wait for some kind of answer or some recognition that the princess had understood him, but all he received was a statement.

"That doesn't explain why you are here."

"Is it a crime for a trader to do his job and give some goods to his customers." The blue dragon replied.

" You can't fool me, Algilulf. You aren't a simple trader and you know it. Tell your true reasons for being here, or I will have to take you in."

"I was afraid you would say that." Agilulf said, after which he jumped on his paws. Before anyone could react, he lunged himself at the female princess in front of him. Whatever his idea was, it didn't succeed, sadly for him. With one simple dodge, he missed the princess, who in turn smashed her fist on top of his head. The blue dragon's head collided with the ground, knocking him out instantly. This seemed to break any restraints on Authari, who chose to open his mouth in an onslaught of curses and other filthy words in ever language imaginable.

"How dare you wound a warrior of the northern lands? Prepare to die, stupid slut."

Tenkamin turned around, her eye ridges lifting a little. Apparently, she hadn't noticed the other brother yet, or she didn't care enough to acknowledge him. Whatever the case, she wasn't to impressed with what she saw.

"Agilulf never told me he had a sister. Tell me, foulmouthed youngling, what is your name?"

Authari didn't answer this question though. At the mere mention of the word 'sister', his eyes had almost popped out of his head and he jumped at her with a feral snarl. His attempt to hurt the female ended not that much different in comparison to his brother though. Another dodge and punch in the face quickly put a stop to the furious attack. Tenkamin shrugged.

" They haven't changed one bit." She thought with a slight hint of anger in her mental voice. Her attention was redirected when she heard a voice behind her.

"Dear princess Tenkamin. Daughter of Galvano, son of Gawain, descendant of the master of these woods. I hope I don't interrupt you with something, but could you please release us? Those two criminals have captured us, and we would be very happy and grateful if we could get our freedom back."

Tenkamin looked at the two dragonesses for a second. They were both stunningly beautiful, although a little bit skinny, and the metal collars on their bodies, combined with the tattoos and dark color gave them a creepy look. Nothing that screamed 'trust me' so far.

"And why should I do that, if I may ask? As far as I am concerned, you have no reason being here, so your presence here is just as preposterous as the fact that these tree nitwits have found their way back into these woods. "

Malefor sighed. This dragoness proved to be just another thickheaded idiot, and she was getting tired of dealing with those. She promised herself to never set one foot in the swamps ever again if she got out here. And judging by those three brothers, the north would be another area she would need to avoid as the plague. If she ever got away here, that is. Still, she had to be tactical. This was still a princess she was talking to. Cynder wasn't so patient though, and she voiced her opinion rather bluntly.

"I am dearly sorry, princess, but my sister and I have been through enough shit for many years, and now we finally escaped the torture, we get captured by these three twats, hurt by one of them, called prostitutes, and now you are saying we can't leave? No offence, but if you are really that mighty as you think you are, release me, and I will show you how we in the south make our enemies eat the fucking floor. Two choices, fight me, or suck it up for a moment, forget your moronic duties as a princess and release us this instant. "

If Malefor would be able to do it, she would have face palmed so hard she would have broken her muzzle.

" The whole world exists out of idiots." She whispered.

"Okay then, I will release you two, but on one condition."

Malefor her eyes went wide open when she heard the words coming from Tenkamin's mouth. Looking at the princess, she witnessed the green dragoness grinning like a teenaged fangirl. When she saw the surprised look on Malefor's face, she chuckled a little.

"Don't look so surprised. It has been ages since someone dared to speak like that to me, and I have to say that it felt good to feel real anger once again. It isn't every day that someone's dares to scold the granddaughter of Gawain. It takes some very large figuratively speaking balls to pull that off, and I think such a display of bravery deserves some repayment."

Malefor couldn't keep her grin under control.

"Thank you very much, dear princess."

Tenkamin chuckled again however.

"Don't thank me too fast, youngling. I have told you that there is one condition."

"And what would that be?" Cynder asked.

"You two have to drag these blue criminals to my town. I could do it myself, but it would be too bad to let such an opportunity at help go to waist, don't you think?"

Malefor sighed again. Why did this world hate her so much.

* * *

Malefor couldn't remember how many times she had cursed by now, but she did knew that she wouldn't be stopping for the time being. Her eyes kept shooting daggers at the green dragoness walking in front of them. She actually had to applaud the princess for releasing her, but she couldn't after the stupid trick she pulled on them. Back at the fire place, Tenkamin had given both the purple sisters the job to bury the riches belonging to the three brothers. Her explanation for it was that she would send someone to dig it back up later, and that a hoard of Artisan gold found on Withwara grounds would cause a political nightmare with the Artisan empire, and their tribe couldn't risk that. Next, they had searched for the third brother, named Alboin.

The one Malefor had hurt.

They had found him behind the stone structure were the gold was being kept, his face smeared with all kinds of fungi and leafs. According to Tenkamin, this was one of the many weird ways that northern ice dragons used to heal their wounded.

" But it is horribly ineffective. Most of the medical power these plants possess is lost when the temperature gets above minus ten degrees. Back in Dante's Freezer it may be a good way of helping each other out, although it is primitive way of heeling someone, here it is just worsening the scars." She said. While she was speaking, she wore a snicker on her face, like she enjoyed to explain the stupid move made by the brothers.

"You really don't like these brothers, do you?" Malefor had asked, but she had stopped when her only reply was made by a look that meant ask-again-and-you-are-dead. After this, they had brought the still unconscious body of Alboin next to the other ice dragons, so they could choose who would carry who. Tenkamin chose Authari, there his feminine build made him way lighter and easier to carry than the other more muscled brothers. Malefor had protested, but another glare of the princess reminded her who wielded power here.

Cynder had been appointed to carry Agilulf. Although he was a very muscled individual, he was nothing compared to Alboin. From the moment Malefor had pulled the heavy male on her back, her nose had been met with the smell of rotting flesh, bodily fluids and many other forms of dirt, most of it seemingly already being there before Malefor had attacked this guy. It was clear that he was the most dirty and disgusting one of the three. Agilulf at least had a well-kept body. That couldn't be said about his sibling. Touching Alboin was already enough to transfer sicknesses the purple dragoness didn't even want to even imagine. His scales were sticky and rough. His paws smelled like wet grass, and his head was even worse, only accentuated by the smells of the fungi that had decorated his head some minutes ago. At the end of the day, Malefor had many reasons to curse.

Many hours seemed to pass, and they were still walking along the path leading to Tenkamin's village. The sun began to get up again and when faced with this turning of time, Malefor began to feel how tired she actually was. Her body hadn't slept in hours, and the constant abuse had taken its toll on her. Alboin's weight seemed to cumulate with every passing meter, and she didn't knew how long she would be able to do this anymore. Her shoulders were getting sore, and the constant abuse on her scales began to get more and more insufferable the longer she walked.

Some of them began to get irritated and some even detached slowly, blood and flesh beginning to poor out of the many small flesh wounds on her shoulder blades. Her nerves weren't designed for this kind of overload, and although she treid her hardest to keep her posture, the occasional pain filled moan began to arise more and more. The further they went, more moans began to erupt from her mouth, and eventually, Cynder noticed. Without a second thought, she stopped dead in her tracks. Looking behind her, she looked at Malefor with a hint of worry in her eyes. Tenkamin didn't seem to notice though, and she kept walking her steady pace. It wasn't until she couldn't hear the constant moans anymore, that she even cared to look back at the twins, and the disinterest in her eyes was only matched by the pompous and disapproving glare she send the sisters. Still, she sounded not that angry.

"Would you please help your sister a little. It seems like she can't walk properly."

Cynder wasted no time in following Tenkamin's orders, and she walked to Malefor. It was only now that she noticed the blood seeping from the former dark master's shoulders, and the worry in her eyes became only more apparent.

"Mally, are you okay?" she asked, although she knew how stupid the question might sounded.

"Yeah, yeah. I am fine Cynder. Really." Malefor answered. She tried to muster up a smile to ensure her statement, but a pained grin was all she could spend. The walk had taken more energy then she really wanted to admit, and her legs began to get more and more heavy. Her paws dragged more over the ground then actually walking like they should have been doing. Thanks to this, Malefor wasn't able to sell the image that she wanted to portray to her sister. Cynder frowned, not too happy with the situation, but she quickly switched back to her concerned mode. This was not the time nor the place for an argument about honesty. Instead, she turned her head to Tenkamin, who was ignoring the two dragonesses behind her.

"My sister is badly hurt, princess. I think it would be unwise to continue the travel."

Tenkamin smirked at this.

"I you were able to survive Authari's wrath, you will survive this travel. My town isn't that far away anymore. Put some effort into it, and you will live. The healers of my village will care for you."

Cynder wanted to protest again, or at least give this pretty princess her unfiltered opinion about the situation, but Malefor focused the attention on herself.

"Cynder, let it rest. I will live. We have been through worse, remember." She said, barely putting on the small smile she had tried to do some moments ago.

Cynder looked at her sister for some seconds, and although the worry didn't disappear, she seemed to see why they shouldn't defy a dragoness-warrior-princess. Still, Malefor could see the I-will-force-you-to-go-to-a-healer-when-this-is-all-over face. With an angry huff, she turned around, returning to the route they were walking some minutes ago.

Another hour passed and, looking at the sun, it was close to midday. The blood on Malefor's shoulders had become dry and rough, and her scales had become irritated to the point of real pain. She was close to giving up, until she heard a weird yelp made by Tenkamin. It seemed very uncharacteristic for someone of such prestige to make such a juvenile sound, but it went even further then that. She dropped the body of her captive as fast as she could and dropped herself to the ground, putting her front paws on the top of her head. In an extremely high tempo, she began to chant verse after verse in her weird language, leaving her two purple helpers/slaves in confusion.

"What is she doing? " Cynder asked.

"I have no idea." Malefor answered.

Both of the sisters quickly walked to the big green dragoness, who kept talking in her weird tongue, singing verse after verse of random sounds. Looking at where she had pointed herself at, Malefor was dumbfounded by what she saw, and relieved at the same time.

"Is that what I think it is? " Cynder asked.

Malefor couldn't help but smile. She hadn't been so relieved to finally find a place like were she was right now. There, before her, was an enormous city, but it looked like nothing Malefor had ever seen before. The walls surrounding the city were made of thick wooden plates in the shape of dragon scales, making the whole defensive structure look like an enormous snake that surrounded the city. The towers that separated every edge of the structure continued this theme. The natives had painted bright colors on the roofs and decorated it with an enormous woodcarving of a snake. The color of the wooden creature was a very dark green, making its blood red eyes only more apparent. Malefor couldn't see past the walls to the actual city, but what she could see was just as impressive. A breathtakingly high building stood in the middle of the city.

The base was built like any other palace of stone, but this one expanded it by putting countless amounts of smaller palaces on top of the stone one, the expansions made of wood. These smaller structures also had the scaly design of the walls surrounding it, but instead of one uniform brown color, these were all unique. Each and every scale was painted in a different color, and some of them were even further decorated with drawings and small statue's that had been attached to them. The building itself looked so surreal that Malefor couldn't quiet understand how it hadn't collapsed yet. Every scale, every layer and every statue seemed to have its own battle with gravity, desperately trying to defy the forces of nature. All in all, it was an amazing sight to behold, and Malefor couldn't help but think about how she hadn't heard of these guys before. But then she remembered Rhyddrech's words about their secrecy. Speaking off, were the fuck did he go? Her thoughts were interrupted however by the sister of the person she forgot.

Tenkamin, seemingly ending her prayers, returned on her feet. Turning around, she looked at the two sisters.

"Okay, you two have to listen very carefully to what I say, okay."

Both of the sisters nodded. Tenkamin continued.

"When we enter the city, there will be a priest at the gate. He will ask you the question 'Roi da pec'hed war me'. You two will have to answer that question."

Malefor frowned.

"What does the question mean, if I may ask?"

"It practicly means something along the lines of 'Bestow your sins upon me'. You will have to confess your worst wrongdoings to him, and he will listen. That's all you have to do."

"And why should we do that?" Cynder asked. Malefor understood why she asked it. If she had to confess every horrible thing she had done she would need to rent that priest for a whole week.

"Way back, when our village was founded, our king Galam Cennalath noticed that a lot of refugees entered our lands. They wanted to join us and integrate in our society, after their own homes had been destroyed in the wake of the violent days of Pharamond's rule of the realm. Many of them had once served the armies of king Pharamond, and the natives didn't trust them. Galam however, saw that they were in need and let them in. Still, people gossiped, and overall distrust began to rule the streets. The situation went from bad to worse, and within the blink of an eye, everyone distrusted everyone. Neighbors couldn't look each other in the eye without sensing the smell of murder and distrust in the air, and even brothers fought each other. Galam couldn't ignore the situation any longer, and he decided to give us something that would solve every problem. He appointed a group of dragons as priests, teaching them about the gods and the spirits that inhabit these woods. After years of training, they were ready. From that day on, every dragon that wants to enter the city, needs to confess every sin he has done to the priest at the entrance. That way, they come in clean and they leave all their wrongdoings, sins, grudges and privileges at the gate. This way, we are all equal in the eyes of the gods, and because the priests are prohibited of speaking about what they have heard, you do not have to fear for anyone ever knowing about your inner demons."

Malefor nodded, showing that she understood the situation. She had one question though.

"What if someone lies?"

Tenkamin her eyes took a dark glow at this.

"It is seen as an insult to our gods, and if they do not punish you, the priests will take that right into their own hands. An immediate execution is needed so the evil inside this lying dragon cant spread further. Do you understand?"

Malefor nodded, this time a little bit more afraid. She had never been the religious type, nor did she believe in the many legends that were told by the locals back in her day. Still, she could see how the power to speak for the gods could be abused in a society like this. It would be better to keep the priests on her side, because one accusation of being a liar was apparently enough to be as good as dead. How the priests determined who should die was a mystery on its own, but Malefor wasn't too keen on finding it out either. She had better things to do.

Tenkamin began to walk to the city, and both the sisters followed. They had no other place to go, and certainly not if those blue dragons they were carrying were any indicator of the criminals that were ruling these woods. Still, they were going into a village were basically everyone was a trained assassin. The best of the two choices, if she had to be honest to herself.

Within minutes they had reached a heavy but rather unimpressive door, with a small hole next it. Tenkamin knocked on the wood surrounding the hole five times, after whispering another prayer or two. To Malefor's surprise, an eye appeared in the hole. This eye shared the red color with those of Rhyddrech, and now Malefor looked properly, Tenkamin as well. Did all these dragons paint their eyes, or was it genetic? Only the ancestors knew.

The owner of the eye whispered something back to Tenkamin in their incomprehensible tongue , before Tenkamin started to speak.

And speak.

And speak.

"How long do you think she will have to confess?" Cynder whispered to her next of kin. Malefor snickered.

"Our little princess has her own dirty secrets, I presume. Whatever it may be, I hope she leaves time enough for us. Otherwise we won't be inside until next year.

Both Cynder and Malefor laughed, although the joke wasn't that funny to begin with. An angry growl made by the agitated Tenkamin made them shut up though.

"Lesson one: never interrupt a princess her religious business." Cynder whispered. Malefor could only nod.

* * *

A green dragoness was flying over the woods, grumbling to herself. Her head was looking around, scanning the forest for any sign of life. It was her duty to keep the borders safe, and such a task should be taken seriously, although she couldn't deny how boring it was. Her people had been doing this daily since Galam's time, but they had never encountered anything. Not even the smallest footprint. Sometimes there were some criminals they had to fight of, but even that was rare. They weren't the most powerful tribe in the area for nothing. Withwara's wouldn't be conquered by anyone. Still, why did that honor require such a boring job? Sighing, she looked around, her eyes barely seeing anything in the dim light of the morning sun. The woods were calm, as usual. But where her eyes couldn't see, her nose did detect what smelt like…

"Burned wood? Please don't say that those stupid smugglers have tried to burn us out of our homes again." She muttered. Another standard situation. It was quiet common for other tribes to hire some shady dragon to try something like this.

She flew to the origin of the smell, and she was rather surprised to see that there was nothing more than a burning campfire. Looking around, she noticed two bundles of rope lying on the ground, clearly cut by the claws of a dragon. The ground was molded over, hinting at a fight. Her eyes noticed something else though. A movement, coming from somewhere between the trees. She sighed.

"Dear criminal. I, Igriane from the honorable Withwara tribe, request you to stop your activities, to show yourself, and to retreat to the shit hole you came from. Not replying will be met with violence."

No answer. Igraine groaned.

"I will act upon my threats, so please, retreat."

To Igraine's surprise, she heard the movement again. But this time it was behind her. Turning around as fast as she could, she could only see more trees. The sound had died down.

"Euuhmm…okay. This is weird." She whispered. Her words were barely spoken, or she heard the sound again.

Behind her.

Turning around again, she saw the familiar look at the trees again, but nothing that hinted at any movement. Igraine felt a shiver go down her spine. In all her years, she had never experienced something like this. And it was creeping her out greatly. Taking her fighting stance, she stood strong. Nothing could get her down.

Or so she thought.

Without any warning, without any sound, she felt an enormous jab at her side, something sharp penetrating her scales and flesh. A jolt of pain went through her, and she looked at the direction of the attack, trying to get a clear view of her attacker. Her black eyes only widened when she looked into the pupil-less white eyes of a plane-white dragon. His scales were dirty and broken, and might have once been beautifully white, but now they were just as dead and empty looking as the eyes accompanying them. Igraine screamed for her life when she saw the dragon, trying to get up. The white dragon said nothing, did nothing and didn't even move. He just kept looking at her while she was bleeding furiously, a blank emotionless stare in his empty eyes.

"Who are you? " she screamed.

No reply.

As fast as she could muster, she tried to get up. To her surprise, the white dragon didn't touch her while doing it. He just kept looking at her, like he was waiting for something to happen. Following the focus of his eyes, Igaine could see that he was looking at her abdomen, and a cold feeling spread through her body.

The female scout looked at her stomach, and she almost threw up at the sight she saw. Her scales and flesh had been ripped open like a bag of potatoes, its content slowly creeping out of her body. Barely giving any more thought to her situation, she ran, her stomach bleeding along the way, her eyes searching for a rescue. Her breath became heavier, her eyes became more heavy, red and drowned in tears of pain with every passing second.

"Dear ancestors, Galam and the Gods above, please help me." She whispered, her paws barely coming of the ground. The only thing that kept her going was the adrenaline that rushed to her system, keeping her alive. It was her last life line.

But as an old Dutch saying goes, "The cavalry always comes too late."

She couldn't know that Celph, the white dragon of the south had attacked her.

* * *

Gorlois landed next to the entrance of his city. After telling the few sins he had done since he left, he entered the city, meeting up with the other dragons that had to patrol the area. It was a job none of them really liked, thanks to the utter boredom most experienced when doing their duty. Gorlois smiled lightly, happy that his turn was finally over, and judging by the faces made by the others, he wasn't the only one feeling that way.

"Hey Gorlois, how are you doing?" One of the smaller females cheered. The male looked at the source of the voice, and a glans of recognition flew over his face. It was an old friend of him, knowing each other since childhood. But even in all these years, her beautiful character and figure hadn't changed. Her childlike innocence mixed with her small and fragile looks made her rather cute, and Gorlois couldn't help but smile at her.

"Hello there Gwenhwyfach. It was a calm day for me, just as always." He said. He gave another smile to the smaller dragoness before regaining his stoic posture. He had to keep his posture in front of the others. Still, he couldn't keep himself from looking at his female friend. A small tingle came up in him when he noticed the blush that graced Gwenhwyfach's cheeks.

"Good. So everyone is here? " the leader of the group asked.

"No sir. Igraine hasn't returned yet." One of the dragons at Gorlois his left said. A collective sigh went through the band of guards. This wasn't the first time that Igraine had gone lost, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Her hot temper and overall grumpiness made her unstable and unreliable, and her small and weak physic made her a bad assassin. Overall, she wasn't of much use to the city.

"We will search for her this evening, if she hasn't returned by then. All the rest of you, you guys are dismissed until the next service." The leader said, turning around and flying away. Many of the other dragons did the same. Gorlois intended to walk away, but he was stopped when he heard the cute voice of Gwenhwyfach behind him. With a big smile, he turned around, but he was surprised by the fearfull look on her delicate facial features.

"Gwenny, what's the matter?" he asked. She didn't answer outright, her eyes darting to multiple directions, seemingly avoiding eye contact with her friend. Eventually, a small piece of reassurance dawned in her shiny orbs, and she whispered.

"Do you think something happened to Igraine?"

Gorlois sighed. This wasn't the first time he saw that kind of reaction coming from her. The small dragoness was one of the few who wasn't irritated by Igraine's spontaneous disappearances, mostly because she was new and because she was just too…..innocent. She couldn't see that the only person to blame for Igraine's problems, was Igraine herself.

"She probably lost her head or something, and is now trying to find that grumpy thing again." He mumbled, partly joking.

"Don't say that." Gwenhwyfach screeched. Gorlois just rolled his eyes. After some minutes of silence, something seemed to click in the small dragoness her mind, and another blush turned her green cheeks red.

"Y…Y..You called me Gwenny." She stuttered.

Gorlois his pupils widened a little when he realized that her remark was true. Quickly, he turned himself to Gwenhwyfach.

"You don't mind the name, do you? If that's the case, I am terribly so.."

"No no no. It okay Gorlois, it truly is. I….I..I kinda like it."

A smile appeared on both of their faces.

* * *

Igraine felt like she was being ripped apart from inside herself. She couldn't know how much time had passed since the attack, but her situation became more and more hopeless with every passing minute. Another tear escaped her eye, but they widened when they saw something that filled her barely beating heart with joy.

"Withwara."She whispered, her eyes looking at the snake like walls of her home, her city. Her last source of living. In utter desperation, one of her paws extended in front of her, like she tried to grab the image of the city, as a last resort. Her heart seemed to skip a beat when she saw a white, dirty paw grabbing her extended one. With her last pieces of force, she turned her head around, and what she saw made her stomach turn. There, standing behind of her, was the white dragon, Cleph, again. A smile was now smeared on his face, making her realize why he hadn't killed her back there. He had just followed her. He had seen her die slowly, crawling in desperation. He enjoyed this.

"Y..You sick fuck." She groaned, trying to put up a fight. Cleph only grinned, dragging her back in the woods. Igraine screamed, screeched, cursed and begged, but nothing stopped him. The city she had grown up in left her eyesight and with it, her last piece of hope.

* * *

 **Well, this was a long time coming. I am very sorry that I haven't updated in such a long period of time, but I was busy. I fucked school up ( partly) but I will survive. I can still go to university within two years, so I am fine. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I think it could have been better on some levels, but this is the best I could do at the moment of me writhing this. I have spent weeks upon weeks re-writing the scene involving Igraine, I rewrote the intro and Authari's part in this chapter five times, the part with Gorlois three times, and Tenkamin's whole dialogue was re-written four times, so you get the idea. I have already planned what I will do next chapter, and I will try to be faster this time. I do have to say that I will spent more time on updating my other stories at the moment, because they are all nothing short of dead. Still, I would like to hear what everyone thought of this piece of (insert personal opinion/flame/curseword here).**

 **Leuk dagske nog verder**

 **See yah**

 **PTPD**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

 _ **The strong manly ones in life are those who understand the meaning of the word patience. Patience means restraining one's inclinations. There are seven emotions: joy, anger, anxiety, adoration, grief, fear, and hate, and if a man does not give way to these he can be called patient. I am not as strong as I might be, but I have long known and practiced patience. And if my descendants wish to be as I am, they must study patience**_

 _ **Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)**_

 _ **I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.**_

 _ **Alexander the Great (356 BC-323 BC)**_

* * *

Dark clouds had manifested above the mountains surrounding the Valley of Avalar. For centuries, it had been the place where dragons and apes off all types travelled through, trading along the way. Many villages had once covered the whole valley, their walls and houses still standing after thousands of years since their last inhabitant died. They had been prosperous cities, led by chiefs, kings, emperors and warlords, and they had all served one of the many purposes that was intended by their masters.

Many had been enormous circle like structure, with a marketplace in the middle of the whole construction, giving an economic boost to the whole region. Back in the days of old, these cities were also filled with the best bars in the realm, serving many travelers with pleasure and fun, before they made the last leap to Warfang. Back then, Warfang was just a small city, mostly inhabited by fire dragons, and it wouldn't have its important position for many centuries to come. Overall, the valley had been a place of prosperity and evolution, and to this day, many old dragons in Warfang told stories, that they themselves had heard from their own elders, about the beauty and wealth of the region.

But these day had passed long ago.

After Pharamond's takeover, many of the remaining resistance moved their activities to Warfang, taking the traders, the people with experience, and all the workforces with them, leaving the former glorious region without any source of income or work. Slowly but surely, the towns ,camps and cities ran empty until there was nothing left except the burned and destroyed remains of a once powerful group of cultures and tribes.

One of these cities was Shalamaser. It had belonged to a tribe that spoke a language that was now long forgotten, and their customs had been unusual to say the least. Their people had been excellent traders though, and so they flourished. But even the powerful had to fall eventually, and the dragons of Shalamaser were no exception. Creatures of all kind now roamed the dark market place and the surrounding houses. Vegetation had grown over the many inscriptions and drawings on the walls, detailing the long history of times before Warfang, going way farther in time than any current scroll dared to go. But something had changed.

For the first time since the fall of Pharamond, there burned another fire in the center of the marketplace. The walls were once again covered with light, and most of the houses were back in use, against all odds. But these new inhabitants weren't the trading tribesmen of days past. They were the soldiers of an army that was almost as feared as the one that brought Shalamaser on it's knees so many centuries ago. A name that could rival Pharamond's in fame, and in fear.

Tenebris.

The army of the dark lord had travelled a full day since leaving their mountain, but something slowed them down. Thanks to the fact that cheetahs, nor apes could fly, they had to walk. This way of travelling greatly increased their travel time, and their chance to be spotted by spies, but Tenebris couldn't miss a single soldier. Not when he wanted to defeat the last city resisting his rule.

Warfang.

* * *

Tenebris glared around his room. As the dark lord he had obviously chosen the biggest building in the whole city, that now served them as a camp. It had probably belonged to the chief of the tribe that had lived there so many ages ago, and Tenerbis greatly enjoyed the idea of living in such a place. It was like a relic of power, from even before Pharamond's time, and it made him feel like he was continuing a legacy of some sorts. It made him feel important and legendary. Still, his mood was slowly being ruined by an individual in his room. A group of individuals to be precise.

In front of him, he had his whole general staff. Dragons at the left, apes at the right. They had all chosen their spots on the many pillows that covered the rooms floor, making the room rather cozy. This didn't took away from the tense atmosphere hanging in the building.

"So, Hilderic. According to you, we have to delay the travel with one more day. If I understood you correctly, you deem it necessary because the cheetahs and the apes are tired after such a long journey, and they need a good moment of rest so they will be optimal at the battlefield? Before I speak my mind, does anyone else have an opinion about this matter?"

Tenebris looked around the room, judging the faces of his inner circle, trying to find a trace of doubt in their eyes. An unsure general couldn't work properly, so he needed them all to be on the same page. It was essential to the machine that was his army. The ape generals were their usual selves. They just looked at him like the answer to all their problems was written on the dark master's forehead, and he was thinking about intimidating them a little, just to get some reaction out of them.

Their total devotion to him was handy, but so annoying at the same time. It disgusted him that there were beings that could sink so low that they were prepared to kiss anyone's paws, as long as they promised them great power and other stereotypical things, that meant nothing in the end. But none of these apes could even come close to the biggest ass-licker of them all, Hilderic.

The general had joined the dark master his ranks years ago, when he became a real threat for the first time, and in all these years he had shown himself to be one of the biggest opportunists in dragon history. As long as Tenebris was the strongest, he could count on him, but the tide had to change only once, and his feelings for the dark master's cause would surely change. Tenebris was sure that Hilderic would backstab him from the moment that he wasn't the biggest fish in the pond anymore, but there was a simple solution to this.

Just be the biggest fish in the pond.

Tenebris his eyes where pulled to his left when he heard a sound, closely resembling a snort. It was almost unhearable, but the dark master's ears where better than those of most other dragons. Looking at the source of the sound, he couldn't help but smile a little.

"Ahh, dear Thrasamund. Do you have something to say about Hilderic's plans? I would love to hear it."

There, standing behind her brother Gunthamund, stood one of the biggest dragons that the world had ever seen, rivaling the height of even Tenebris. Her scales held the same black color as her brother's, and they would have been identical, if it wasn't for the difference in size and figure. But the most different thing, were their eyes. Tenebris had known these two for a long time, and he had spotted some big differences. Where Gunthamund's eyes were filled with insanity and constant chaos, his sisters were filled with determination and a cold stare that could kill (figuratively speaking.). A terrifying warrior, and a useful tool.

Thrasamund answered Tenerbis his question with nothing more than another snort, aided by her brother, who randomly decided to enter one of his many and sporadic fits of uncontrollable laughter. He was stopped though, when the fist of his sister smacked him along the head, kicking his mouth shut. Hilderic trembled a little at this display of violence. Tenebris just snorted.

"Tssk,tssk. Always the violent one, aren't you Thrasamund?" he said. She ignored his question though, and answered the initial one.

"Our soldiers can handle this travel. Making them rest will only make them lazy and lackluster. I say, travel further." Tenebris grinned when he noticed the cold stare Thrasamund was sending at Hilderic's direction, daring him to object. He loved it when the female general showed her dominance in front of her weaker counterpart. It served as an insurance of some sort, a certainty that his generals had this competitive side that kept pushing them to new heights. And force the weak one's out.

Hilderic seemed, against all odds, ready to give Thrasamund an answer that would serve her right, but at the last moment, his courage seemed to sink away in the coward-like figure he was and always would be. If it was for self-preservation or because of a genuine feeling of fear, Tenebris couldn't tell, but he couldn't help but laugh a little at the scene.

"Thanks Thrasamund. You were just as …stunning as always. I do have to say that I have already chosen what I will do. Our dear Hilderic may be a dirty coward, and far less competent then you in the battlefield, he still has a point. We will wait. I have some unfinished business anyway." The dark master said. Thrasamund her deadly glare went from Hilderic to her master, and for a second it seemed like she would protest, but the rage quickly faded, and her cold exterior returned. She wouldn't dare to go against her master. She needed him.

"Your wish is my command." She whispered.

"Probably." Tenebris replied.

With one gesture of his paw, the dark master ordered everyone to stand up and to leave. The ape generals were the fastest, greatly imposed by their leader. The dragons were much slower, being bigger and less afraid of their leader. Hilderic was the first of the dragons, almost immediately behind the scared apes. Next was Gunthamund, still holding his head to recover from his sisters assault. Thrasamund was the last one to leave the building. She had already left the stone structure, when she heard her masters voice behind her.

"Thrasamund. It would be wise if you would keep an eye out for any coward that tries to run away. I have a feeling there will be some who are eager to leave, now we are so close to battle. You can handle this, can't you?"

Thrasamund nodded, but she didn't leave. She seemed to think a little, before speaking her mind.

"If I catch a deserting general, should he be judged on the same merits as a soldier?"

Tenebris his grin grew when he heard this.

"No. We will give that traitor a special treatment. But I do have to ask you something. You aren't trying to get rid of someone, do you? That would…cruel."

Thrasamund just stared back.

"I will do what is best for our cause."

The dark master nodded, grin still on his face.

"Of course you will, Thrasamund. Of course."

* * *

Tenebris sighed deeply. It had been only minutes ago since his generals had left his room, giving their master some much needed rest, before the bane of Tenebris's existence decided to enter the room.

The ape king himself.

Gaul.

The ape was feared by his enemies, and even by his own people, who were the receiving end of his sadistic tendencies on more than one occasion. His deeds spoke louder than his words, but he still had to answer to someone greater.

"Come here Gaul, and bring me whatever information you have to bring me. I assume it is about our lovely lady Amanitore?"

The ape king slowly walked over to the dark master, a small hesitance in his movement, like he was afraid to come close to his leader. This was the only thing showing weakness though, his face holding an emotionless stare, almost as empty as Huneric's, but not quite as imposing or depressing. The king couldn't himself to look weak in front of such a master. Not now, not ever. Still, his hesitation was spotted by Tenebris' eyes, and the dark master always liked to toy with his victims.

"Why are you walking so weird, great king? Something wrong with your leg?"

Gaul grimaced a little when he heard the question.

"No my lord."

Tenebris nodded.

"That's good to hear. I can't have one of my generals being weak right before a great battle, now can I?"

Gaul nodded at this, slightly faster than a totally calm person would.

"I would rather die than to let my body become weak, my lord."

Tenebris grinned at these words.

"Perfect Gaul. It's just that your body isn't what I am worried about. It's your mind that I fear."

Gaul frowned.

"Why would that be, my lord? I have never complained, I have never disobeyed, I have never stopped doing what I needed to do for my master's cause. Why should the state of my mind be questioned? " Gaul said. He couldn't understand what was going on. Why was his master telling him this? Was he going to be executed? He hoped not. His breath almost stopped when he saw Tenebris opening his mouth, especting an order of execution.

"The mind of any individual is honestly, one of the most interesting places to look. It contains everything someone needs to know, needs to feel and needs to hide. Every person in this camp, being ape, Cheetah, dragon or hellhound, they all have their own thoughts, feelings and opinions. Most of it are trivial things not worthy of mine concern, but some require special attention. Otherwise they might be infected with ill thoughts, and like Aveta, the mother goddess, I shall protect my followers from such sicknesses. Sadly, sometimes the sickness proves to be incurable, and in that case we have to prevent further infection by eradicating the source. That's the hard truth every caretaker faces. And so it pains me to ask it, but Gaul, please, in the name of Aveta, tell me the truth . Are you carrying the seed of a sickness in your mind ?"

Gaul shook his head like he had never done before.

"I swear upon Aveta, Artio, Andarte and every other goddess of our glorious pantheon of heroes that I speak the truth when I say that I am nothing more than your humble servant."

Tenebris nodded, grin fading, seemingly looking satisfied with that answer. Gaul couldn't help but relieve some air from his longs now the tense situation had passed. This was way too close to an allegation to be toying around from his master. When this was all over, he would need to check upon the other ape generals, just to see who had spread gossip about him. Probably that snake of a Gnupa again. Gaul would finish this business later however. He still had to say why he had initially come.

"My lord, I know I am unworthy but I have to ask a favor of you. It is about Amanitore, may the God's curse her name. My scouts have…"

Gaul his attempt at addressing his situation whas ruined by some loud screaming outside of Tenebris' residence, followed by a multitude of voices shouting orders and insults in every language spoken in the dark master's forces. One word was repeated every time though.

Traitor.

"Seems like something is going on outside. Let's have a look, shall we. This conversation can wait"

Gaul nodded. Running outside, he pulled his sword out, ready to fight. Still, nothing could prepare him for what was outside the building, making him stop dead in his tracks. Even when the dark master pushed him away to get out of his home, the ape still didn't move. Tenebris only reacted by raising one eyebrow, seeming barely surprised, summarizing the situation in one sentence.

"Wells, that's quiet the situation we have here."

There, in the middle of the old market place of Shalamaser, were two bodies lying on the ground, surrounded by an enormous crowd made up of almost every soldier in the whole army. The bodies were those of a dragon, and an ape. Both of them were smashed to a bloody pulp, a pool of bodily fluids surrounding them. Still, both of them lived, although barely. Standing behind both of the bodies was the enormous black body of the beast known as Thrasamund. Her face still held her usual stoic expression, although her eyes glistered like she was enjoying every second of this. Gaul barely noticed this though, too focused on the body of the beat down ape.

"Gnupa." He whispered.

In his confusion and disorientation, the ape king didn't notice that Thrasamund had started speaking.

"I found these two trying to escape ,my lord. Apparently, they weren't prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice for their high leader." She said, spitting on the head of the bloodied dragon at her feet. To everyone's surprise, the dragon lifted himself up from the ground, showing his face, and so his identity to the whole crowd. A wave of gasps went through the ranks when they saw the face of the dragon that had tried to flee from this all, who had turned around from his duty. This time, Tenebris did seem surprised, both of his eyebrows shooting up, his mouth forming a disapproving expression.

"I knew you were a dirty snake and a hopeless opportunist but I never thought you would fall this low, Hilderic."

The dragon general looked up at his master, but he couldn't look him in the eye, instead focusing on the general his neck.

"Explain yourself, filth." Thrasamund spat at him. Hilderic, seemingly convinced of something, looked fully up, staring right into the dark master his eyes.

"I have spent my whole life trying to find that one leader, that one empire that I could serve and would lead me to glory and safety. Years have I served you, Tenebris, and I have fought many battles for you. But after all these years, the blood I spilled didn't felt like it could safe me anymore. Every time I fought, I realized that every kill I made was only to serve a cause that I didn't supported. And besides, what is the purpose of serving a leader that kills more of his own men then on the enemies side. I don't know if it was bravery or cowardice that drove me to run away from you, but this night I realized that I was working with a nihilistic power junky, surrounded by megalomaniacs as servants, and I couldn't stand the thought of dying in service of such an organization."

Hilderic lowered his head again, closing his eyes, a small tear running down his cheeks. Tenebris seemed to think about the general's words for a minute, before he decided to speak his final verdict.

"If that is how you feel, I hope you will be glad to know that you won't die in my service. From now on, you are discharged of your position." The dark master turned around, but not before making one last sign with his left paw. A sign meant for only one individual.

Thrasamund didn't hesitate for one second. Before Hilderic could properly process what was happening, she had pushed him down on the ground. The purple general struggled for his life, but it was of no use. With a pleasured growl, the enormous female put her back paw on the smaller male's head, before slowly putting more and more pressure on the skull. Hilderic screamed his lungs out, his nerves being overwhelmed by the pain coming from his skull, bones and muscle ripping and giving up under the enormous pressure. Thrasamund didn't seem to mind the noise though.

The female had closed her eyes, a low and satisfied growl emitting from her throat. The screams, the feeling of life fading away under her paws, the blood and skin splattering on her dirty cleanly washed paws only made the experience better to her. But she wouldn't leave before she had felt the ice-cream topping she craved so hard. With one flap of her wings, she stood on her hind legs, and with one big crunch, Hilderic's head was splashed open under her weight. Blood, brain and other parts of the general's head squirted in multiple directions, painting the ground, Thrasamund's foot and some bystanders red. The screaming had now stopped, and the enthusiasm of the bystanders left with it.

The violence and cruelty displayed by their general made the situation uncomfortable. Some of the warriors gathered turned their heads away from the gruesome scene, while others, mostly cheetahs, shook their heads lightly, disapproving of these acts. Most of the dragons just looked at the crushed head of their kin, some feeling threatened. Hilderic wasn't the only one with desertion-minded idea's, and he wouldn't be the last. Most of the warriors began to back up, returning to their huts and houses, trying to avoid to be confronted with the grim reality they were living in. Most of the ape's stayed however. Their show hadn't ended yet, because there was still one prisoner alive.

The ape-general Gnupa. And he was being held under the burning gaze of Gaul, the ape king.

Gaul hadn't moved. He couldn't. For years, he had battled the rusty and old establishment that ruled his lands and people, and he had been successful on this front. He been able to reunite a big part of the ape's under one flag, and with it came a whole new generation of staff to fill the power vacuum that was left by the old leaders. The only one remaining from this old system was Gnupa.

The old general had once been the right-hand of the feared ape king Geta, father of Gaul. He had been the leader that had regained some of the glory that their kingdom had lost through the ages, thanks to weak rulers and many problems with the much more united dragon armies. The fractured sections of the ape army's couldn't fight against such a race, but Gnupa and Geta had given them hope. This was mostly the reason that Gnupa was kept around, if only to pleasure the public's opinion.

This didn't meant that Gnupa approved of Gaul's kingship, always talking about how much better Geta had been. But this had all been a lie, or so it seemed to Gaul. This display of cowardice had opened his eyes. Finally pulled from his initial shock, helped by Hilderic's dying screams, he took his purple sword tighter in his hands, slowly moving to the ape general, who still hadn't regained his footing. The old Gnupa wasn't even trying, probably to ashamed to show his face to the crowd. This didn't took away that Gaul still had to ask one very important question. At least to him it was.

"Why?"

Gnupa didn't react immediately, but after some seconds, the general lifted himself up, standing just an inch taller than his younger king. Gaul was shocked by how this ape looked. Gnupa's otherwise so cunning eyes seemed tired, empty, red and totally done. His arms were waving next to his body like two pieces of cloth, barely moving or being controlled by their owner. His fur was filled with leaves and it looked like he hadn't taken a bath in months. Nothing about him pointed at the proud warrior that had once fought next to the father of one of the most famous kings in the whole realm. Gnupa wheezed for a moment, before answering the question asked.

"I have followed your father for many years, my king. He fought for equality and regaining the glory of times past. His ,ideals were and still are holy to me, but you have forsaken them. You allied yourself with a dragon of all things, and now your kingship is nothing more than being the butt boy of Tenebris. I refuse to serve a servant."

Gaul had listened, and his reaction was just as fast as Gnupa could finish his reply. With a fast blow of his sword, he ended the generals life. Many of the surrounding apes gasped when seeing this act, annihilating every tie with the past. Thye knew what this moment meant in the greater scheme of things. Now, the only thing leading them was Gaul and no one else. the oposition had finally been silenced. The warriors backed off when they saw Gauls face. The king his eyes were beaming at the bleeding corpse at his feet, rage clearly in his eyes. The arm holding the blade that had struck down the last great ape general was shacking with tension and frustration, and the other apes knew what this meant.

"The only servant here are you, and you failed your master." He spit at the corpse. Before anyone could stop him, Gaul began to furiously smash his sword on the corps, screaming his lungs out. It wasn't long, or the crushed remains of Hilderic's face had been joined by the molded heap of flesh that had once been an ape. This display of feral rage would have probably continued for a much longer time, if it wasn't for one person.

"Gaul, can you please come back inside. I just remembered that you wanted to tell me something. And you know how Amanitore gets when someone makes her wait."

Gaul stopped his onslaught to look around, facing his master Tenebris. For a second it seemed like he would direct his violent behavior towards the dragon, but a blanket of calmness seemed to spread over the ape's body, and he lowered his sword, his face returning to his calm demeanor. Tenerbis grinned at this change in attitude. The fearsome warrior had been returned to being the sheep that the dark master needed.

"Very well then. I hope you still rememeber what you wanted to tell me, because I am waitingfuriously. Every lost minute can be missed."

Gaul nodded and he walked back into the house without looking behind. Eventually everyone left the market place, leaving the two bodies behind. It wasn't long until some birds began to eat from the remains, destroying the last pieces of weakness in the dark armies. Some of the ape their bards would probably make a poetic song about it later on in time, removing the sad truth that their was nothing poetic about this death. It was useless and unnecessary, but they weren't the last, and they surely weren't the first.

* * *

 **Sorry that I couldn't update faster, but school decided to fuck me over really hard. My French teacher practicly said something to me like " You are just incapable of speaking this language" so yeah, that's a downer. Mais je m'en fou. My German is going well, and English is just peanuts. Another reason I couldnt update was because I decided to bingewatch some series these last few days. From best to worst, I have seen 'Outlaw Star', 'RWBY', 'Slayers', Baka and Test', 'Black lagoon', and the Twilight movie series( being one of the most wasted hours of my life. Please dont be insulted, but I can't understand why anyone would like those movies.). Anyway, so I have been gone for a time. But now something about the chapter.**

 **I have said this before, but I do not really like this chapter. It feels like I had many ideas, but couldn't put them on "paper". It's also shorter than I first thought. However, I still think it gave some insight in the inner workings of Tenebris' army and Gaul's mind, although next chapter will go further on him. I also introduced Gunthamund's sister, Thrasamund. Job well done, I would say. Anyway...**

 **Goe dagske nog verder.**

 **Goed dagje nog verder.**

 **see ya**

 **PTPD**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

 _ **The reason why we have two ears and only one mouth is that we may listen the more and talk the less.**_

 _ **Zeno of Citium (335 BC-262 BC)**_

 _ **Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not. Remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.**_

 _ **Epicurus (341 BC-270 BC)**_

* * *

Time seemed to crawl past for the two dragonesses standing in front of the enormous fortress belonging to the Withwara tribe. Tenkamin was taking her time, and she had proven to be very aggressive when being interrupted. This long waiting, and lack of any means of loud communication gave Malefor all the time to examine her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the huge amount trees surrounding the village, like a wall made by nature.

The trees were wider than any normal tree Malefor had ever seen in the woods surrounding Warfang, and their leaves were greener and fresher than she had ever seen. This amazing sight, combined with the slowly rising morning sun, throwing a blanket of warm light over the scene, gave it a magnificent and breathtaking view.

Nature and dragons seemed to blend in perfect here, working together to make one of the most impressive yet beautiful lines of defense ever conceived. Normally she would have assumed that they were planted there, but the sheer beauty, scale and might of the defense made it look so perfect. Much more perfect than the heavy walls of Warfang, or the dark rock-formations that engulfed Mount Malefor.

Malefor snorted at this thought. Mount Malefor? It wasn't really her mount anymore, was it? Mount Tenebris would be a better name, regarding its new owner.

"Mine name still has a better ring to it." She thought, a small smile worming its way on her face. That's right, no one was better than her. Certainly not on her own grounds at least. This brought uncomfortable thoughts to rise. This city, these people, this whole part of the realm, where was it in her old timeline? If her assumptions had been right, this was just an alternate universe, but with her born in another body. If that was right, that meant that Rhyddrech, Tenkamin, Authari, Agilulf and Alboin all lived in her former world too, although she would probably never know in what state.

Or would they? If you thought about it, Malefor her life began to impact Avalar for the first time when she turned into the dark master, many centuries before Cynder's, and thus her new birth. This meant that, when she turned dark, no one of these dragons was already born. An uncomfortable thought entered her mind. What if, in her old reality, she was responsible for the death of these guys ancestors?

Or worse, of their own demise. Who said that it wasn't possible. Hell, it was very plausible in fact. Back in the day, Malefor had practically given out execution and genocide orders like it was candy, rarely ever looking which people or culture she was condemning, sending them to a certain doom. Back then, they were nothing more than ignorant idiots who couldn't see the holy duty that had been bestowed upon Malefor's shoulders. The great cleansing.

The former dark master tried to push these thoughts away. How could she look Tenkamin or Rhyddrech in the eye's, knowing fully well that in another life, she would have, and probably had, murdered them in ways beyond anyone's imagination. It clawed at her heart, knowing what she could have done. Or better, did. Turning around, she looked at the enormous walls of the city, the morning sun coming from behind them, giving them an impressive shadow to see. Malefor felt her gut wrenching when she realized that this beautiful structure, this unique place, would have been burned to the ground back in the day. It was a depressing way of thinking.

Still, one question remained though. Malefor, even with all her cruel deeds, never managed to really conquer land like Tenebris did. She had preferred the tactic of looting a place or destroying it totally, leaving the people dead or fending for themselves and homeless. She didn't care about ground, tactics or even war really. All that mattered was her cause. This created the question, what is Tenebris's cause?

The new dark master took a whole new approach to fighting the realm compared to what Malefor did. Tenebris used his armies to conquer. He conquered the southern lands, and as far as Malefor knew, it wouldn't be long before he tried to conquer these more northern tribes too. After that, he would need to destroy the Artisan empire, what wouldn't be an easy feet, but not impossible either. After that, his last act would need to be to conquer the northern tribes of Dante's freezer, although if Malefor understood Rhyddrech correct, the northern dragons didn't really object to Tenebris his rule.

Conclusion? Next to these twenty-forty tribes in these woods, the Artisan empire and the city of Warfang, there was nothing that could stand up to the dark master his might.

And then there was Spyro.

Malefor was curious about this dragon. She had never really tried to know something about the guy. Why should she? He was just a tool, an arrogant young fool that dared to challenge her power. Malefor still couldn't really accept that they were now on the same sides.

"No." she whispered to herself.

"I don't belong to anyone's side. I have had enough war to last a lifetime. It's time for this mess to end, and after I know how to destroy the control that Tenebris wields over me, I will leave these lands, maybe even this realm. I have seen enough of Avalar."

Back in her younger years, she remembered that, according to some ancient Artisan tales, there were some islands beyond the shores, inhabited by dragons, apes and other creatures many hadn't seen since Pharamond's time. No one knew if these stories were real, but Malefor would gladly search for it. Anything but staying here, in this place that had caused her so much grief and suffering. But what about Cynder? Should she come with her? Malefor didn't knew.

A sigh escaped her mouth.

"Why is life so complicated." She whispered.

"Hey you, it's your turn."

Malefor looked back at the entrance of the city, seeing Tenkamin pointing at Cynder.

Cynder seemed hesitant at first, but after some seconds of doubt, she stood up and made her way over to the small hole in the wall. From where she stood, Malefor could see the internal struggle her sister was going through.

From the moment the purple dragoness stood in front of the hole, she moved like she had still doubt's about this. Could she tell, should she tell or what should she tell? Did this guy understood her? The only other two dragons they met from this tribe spoke English fluently, so why wouldn't this guy? Did he know about their 'job'? Did he know about Tenebris? Had he already lost relatives to the dark master? Too many questions, and probably none would be ever answered. Cynder sighed for a moment, after which she looked right at the eye and nodded. The eye only blinked back.

"Roi da pec'hed war me." it said.

Cynder took one big breath, before she started to whisper to the hole, her confessions inaudible to Tenkamin and Malefor. And again, hours seemed to pass. Tenkamin didn't utter a single word as long as the confession lasted, probably out of respect for the priest listening, or just because it was tradition. Whatever it was, she didn't make for a good distraction from the boring situation, and the sun began rise higher and higher while Malefor began to get tired.

Her shoulders where still open wounds, and she hadn't checked on them yet. A part of her didn't even wanted to, knowing how horrible her shoulders were probably looking, showing her utter weakness. She couldn't let that happen. Instead, she chose to ignore the pain and the irritation of the obviously infected wounds for some more time. She had handled worse, didn't she? Still, her pride couldn't stop from hoping that there was at least a good healer inside these walls. Her shoulders really needed one. After something of an hour, the sun indicating that it was almost midday by now, Cynder finally finished her talk.

"Your turn." Tenkamin said flatly. Malefor decided to ignore the rather rude phrasing, making her way over to the door. On her way to the place, she got a look of her sisters face, trying to make eye-contact. Cynder however, was looking at the ground, seemingly conflicted or confused about her experience. Within the matter of seconds, the former dark master reached the hole, that damned red eye staring right at her.

"Roi da pec'hed war me."

Malefor looked at the eye. The pupil looked like it was staring right into her soul, and for some reason, she found her breath stuck in her throat. Her voice was gone, not able to utter a single word. It seemed like her past refused to exit her mind, refusing to being processed into words. Something seemed so wrong about confessing to this total stranger. Conflicting emotions began to brew up in Malefor's mind, triggered by the trauma's and the suffering, build up over years upon years of horror.

Her face went from angry, to sad, to desperate and back to angry. Still the priest's eye seemed unfazed. This didn't help Malefor her mental state though. How did this guy even dare to expect her, the former dark master, to confess anything to a priest of all things. She wasn't even religious. After what seemed like hours, but was actually just two or three minutes, Malefor raised her head up, looking straight into the hole.

"You think you are something important do you? You think you know it all, and can now expect that other people just give you every secret they have, everything they think about? You think you can control their thoughts, can't you, almighty priest? I don't know, maybe you can, but listen to this. I won't let my mind be controlled ever again. Not by you, not by the dark master, not by anyone. So just open the gate, because you won't get anything else from me."

The eye just looked at her, still not reacting in any way. An awkward silence hung between the two, until Malefor decided to turn around and make her way back to her companions. The priest seemed to have gotten the message, the eye disappearing from its hole, followed by the sound of a lock being moved from its place. Slowly but surely, the old door opened itself, and the three dragonesses walked inside. Malefor, still a little bit distraught from her outburst, didn't noticed her surroundings at first, but after some moments of realization, her mouth fell open from awe.

This city proved to be even more cute and beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Grass seemed to cover every street, filling the gap between some of the strangest houses Malefor had ever seen. Instead of the usually stone-like houses you encountered in places like Warfang, or the farmer like houses you saw in cheetah villages, this were totally different. There was no real organization in the way houses were build, every house having a random spot between the maze of grass and flowers travelling through them. There were no real indications of a path of any sort, and most of the buildings were built in the middle of some kind of pathway.

Infrastructure was nonexistent. The houses themselves were a whole other treat. Every house, no matter the size, was built in some kind of tree. The wood was extremely wide, to make enough living space in their insides, while the leafs covered most of the roofs like some sort of protection. Again, it was a way of building were nature and dragon came together perfectly, although it wasn't really fire proof. This wasn't a problem however, most of the inhabitants, if not all of them, seemed to be earth dragons.

Another surprise come over Malefor when she noticed that all the males had almost exactly the same weird scarifications as Rhyddrech had, some even the same piercings, although none had the implanted horns in the eye-ridges. The females however, seemed to be free from this ritualistic maiming of the body, instead opting for another way of looking stunning.

Malefor had to admit, these females where probably the most beautiful she had ever seen, although they didn't excite her anymore like they did back in the day. Their scales where as smooth as they could be, their body were the most formed, curvy and slender shapes she had ever seen, and their faces all seemed to have this charming look that so many males like in their partner. Still, the blood-red eyes, that everyone here seemed to have, where a little turnoff. A weird fact though, was that Tenkamin lacked some of these qualities. Her face wasn't cute in any way, and her beauty wasn't near what her other tribe woman where. Said dragoness wasn't so keen on the view though.

"Walk through. We need to go to a healer to get you guys fixed up."

Cynder turned around, looking at the princess.

"What about Agilulf and his brothers?"

Tenkamin grinned a little at that.

"Don't worry. Our guards take care of that."

Seemingly satisfied with this answer, all three of the dragonesses began to make their way over to the house of the healer, Tenkamin leading the pack. It was because of this that no one noticed a figure standing next to the entrance of the city, staring at them.

It was an elderly male, his dark green scales looking dull. This couldn't be said about the rest of his body though. Every part of his body was decorated with jewelry, golden rings around his horns, copper bracelets around his legs and endless rings of spiked silver surrounding his tail. His eyes were just as red as all the other ones in this village, but they held a stare that spoke of curiosity. The elderly dragon his nose was pierced with a large iron triangle, the geometric shaping dangling in front of his mouth. All in all, he seemed out of place, even here. But he was a figure that demanded respect. He was a priest. His eyes were glaring at the three dragonesses, but specifically at Malefor.

"Interesting." He coughed.

* * *

An icy cold wind flew through the dark halls of Mount Tenebris. The halls were empty and dead since the dark master left. Most of the ape inhabitants had been taken away to fight in the war against Warfang, so the only ones being left behind were some elderly female apes and children, dragon and ape like in variation. Most of them stayed at the section of the mountain that was made into an ape city, because most of the halls were very dangerous to venture in alone.

Many of them led to nowhere, and others led to restricted areas, only meant for soldiers, dragons, or as sleep places for hired warriors, mostly consisting out of cheetahs. Still, there was one group that did leave their quarters. Three dragons to be exact. They were the ones that were left in charge while their master was away, and they were bored beyond believe. It was Huneric, Genseric and Gelimer.

All three of them were together at the top of the mountain, at the same table they had made plans with their master, only a couple of days ago. This time however, food decorated the table, instead of the maps of Avalar. A dim light shone through the room, coming in from small cracks and holes in the roof, giving a small part of the bright outside sun. There was no real light though for the inhabitants of the mountain, and they were painfully aware of that.

Genseric however, hadn't properly adapted yet to the constant darkness. The lack of sunlight and the constant boredom, mixed with his fear of his general made him feel gloomy. Not that the other generals were much better. Gelimer nor Huneric uttered a single word, silently eating their meat. They didn't even look at each other, to focused on consuming their own food. This was one of the only times they could have some rest, and so they utilized this for total mental calmness. Socializing wasn't that important in an army anyway. After some minutes, Gelimer decided to leave the room.

Genseric looked up from his meal, glaring at the other general. He noticed that, seeing him for one of the first times in clear light, that Gelimer was an electric dragon. The yellow color of his scales was sometimes visible between the purple painted ones. For all the rest, he seemed to look like every other electric dragon. Gelimer himself didn't look at Genseric though. He just left the room, leaving Genseric alone with the other general. After another minute of silence, Genseric decided that the mood had been strangled for long enough, and he tried to break the ice.

"So,euuhmmm…Nice weather today, isn't it?" he said.

Huneric looked up from his food, his face without any emotion.

"Probably."

Genseric cringed inside. This wasn't going good, although some reaction was better than none at all.

"So, what do you think about the war so far? Is it going well for you?"

Huneric didn't move his eyes, staring right at Genseric.

"Probably."

Genseric frowned at this.

"That isn't really an answer, or is it?"

Huneric his eyes hardened.

"You should learn when to respect your elders, youngling. My answer is always an answer."

Genseric's frown deepened.

"But…"

"But nothing." Huneric snapped, showing a trace of emotion through his emotionless façade.

"Our talk has gone on for long enough. Now, let me eat in peace." He said, returning to his monotone and empty tone. This abrupt snap ended the conversation for some minutes, but Genseric's burning curiosity couldn't be stopped, and he blurted out his question before he knew it.

"Did you knew that Gelimer was an electric dragon?"

Huneric looked up again, seemingly debating if he should snap this kids spine, or actually answer the question. Luckily he chose the latter. There died enough dragons as it was anyway.

"Yes I am aware of that. If I remember correctly, he comes from the lands of the Artisan empire. Most of the dragons there are electric ones."

Generic his eyebrow shot up at this.

"Seriously? I thought the Artisan king was on bad terms with Tenebris. Why should someone join the enemy of his homeland?"

Huneric just shrugged.

"I do not involve myself with such things. If someone decides to make such a drastic choice, there will probably be a very good reason for it. A reason he likes to keep to himself."

Genseric nodded, thinking about the information he had just heard. It was weird to think about it. How could someone turn against everything he or she knew? It wasn't illogical to think that Gelimer's parents, family members and maybe even siblings still lived in the empire. What could bring someone to the point that they would consider turning against their own kind? Still, Genseric couldn't really say that it was a bad thing. Gelimer had proven to be a very capable general, and he could be better used on their side then on the other one.

"What about you?"

Huneric looked back up, a look on annoyance in his eyes.

"What about me?"

Genseric swallowed a little. He really wanted to ask this, but he knew he was entering risky territory.

"Where do you come from? Why did you join? What made you turn to see the light that Tenebris brings?"

Huneric his eyes now glared right at Genseric.

"Do you have a death wish, youngling? If not, keep yourself from asking such moronic questions." He said, a hint of anger being behind his words. Genseric nodded to show that he had understood him, but he still had one question lingering in his mind and it needed to be voiced.

"Actually, now we are finally talking, what was that talk on the platform about anyway? You know, two days ago when you said that I needed to respect the enemy of my master."

The elder dragon hadn't yet looked down, so he could look Genseric right in his eyes.

"What do you think it meant?"

Genseric thought about it.

"Well, back where I come from, before we fight, we sacrifice a snake to the our holy father Svetotid, to allow our enemies souls to enter the afterlife, so they can reunite with their ancestors. It is mercy in some way."

Genseric looked at the other dragon, searching for a sign of approval or respect, but none came. Instead, Huneric spoke.

"Have you ever thought about the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you are fighting for the wrong side? Have you ever thought that maybe, the other side was the ones who really needed to win? If the answer is no, you have can ignore all I have ever said to you, but as long as you aren't sure that whatever you are fighting for is a hundred percent justified, you need to respect that there will be people defending a cause that has a slight chance of being better than yours.

A cause, that will bring people more joy then what you could ever give them. As long as that possibility exists, you need to respect all the others. Tell me, youngling. Are you sure about the cause you are fighting for right now?"

Huleric stopped talking, now directing his full attention on the younger general, who was starting to get nervous. He had never really thought about these questions before. In his whole life, he had always accepted what the elders of his village told him, what the priests taught him and what his father commanded him. He had been drilled from day one to follow and believe every single thing he was told, to follow every order. Thinking for yourself and individualism in general wasn't such a big topic where he came from. Huneric saw that Genseric was struggling with the question, and decided to help.

"Might as well help this kid along. Maybe some good will come from this." He thought.

"Tell me, Genseric. Why did you join? What moved you to fight for this cause you keep talking about?"

Genseric sighed.

"I don't know." He whispered.

"There must be a reason. Only a fool fights for nothing." Huneric replied.

Generic sighed again, rubbing his eyes with his paws. He wasn't made for this kind of talks. It made everything way more complicated than it had to be. Life could be so easy, as long as you wouldn't ask those stupid questions. Without those, it was simple. You have the good guys, with Tenebris as their hero, and the bad guys, supported by the abomination of nature, the tyrant Spyro. Still, Genseric wouldn't leave without trying to solve this question. He couldn't live with the thought of being outsmarted by a college on one of his first weeks on the job.

"I joined because I had to." He simply said. Huneric wasn't happy with this reply though.

"No one needs to do anything. I hope you have a better reason than that. I took you for a smart young dragon, and I hope I was right. If I am, you will have to come up with something better, or just accept that you are a simpleton. Your choice."

Genseric looked at the stone-hard eyes of Huneric. He could read nothing from them. No intention, not emotion, nothing. They were totally empty. Avoiding the elder one his eyes, he started to speak. His voice was empty at first, sounding more like an undead creature then a dragon.

"I was born in the Krivich tribe, a tribe situated in the swamps up north, next to the Withwara tribe. I am the son of our king Trpimir. I am his second son, my brother Canute being the heir to the throne. I have always been the one that needed to fight for my honor, where my brother would get it on a silver plate. Back on topic however, five months ago, my father decided that I needed to earn me some glory.

According to him, the only way to get the battle scars I so longed for, I needed to be send to an army. After some searching, My father decided that he would send me to Tenebris his army. He saw the greatness of it when your armies tried take over some neighboring tribes, and he was impressed. As far as I can tell, he has send me to this army, asking protection from your master in return. It was the best opportunity for me to finally gain the honor that I wanted to bad. And now, I am here, and I will not rest until I can return to my tribe, wearing the scars of victory and the head of Spyro on a metal spike."

Genseric stopped himself then and there. The further he got with his story, the louder he had started to talk, almost shouting at the end. A feeling of shame entered his mind. He had gotten way too carried away with this, and now, he had embarrassed himself in front of one of the greatest generals in the whole army. For the third time today, he sighed. Huneric himself had gotten quiet interested while the younger dragon was speaking though.

He too had noticed the clear emotion and frustration that went with his explanation, and it intrigued him. Emotions where something rarely seen in the ranks of Tenebris, and Huneric had to admit that he himself wasn't really helping the situation one bit. Still, it awakened something in him, to finally see this young lad opening up. And to him of all people. Huneric had never been one to take advantage of people's feelings, and he wouldn't use this private information against the guy.

It was clear that he was just a confused kid, swallowed up in a war he didn't understood with morals, contexts and people he didn't understood either. Although Huneric did roll his eyes when Genseric talked about his privileged brother. It struck him how…classic that situation was. Almost like it was ripped from some cheap scroll, meant to amuse teenage dragons with some family issues. Genseric himself was still at war with himself, until he began to speak, although his tone sounded more tired than before.

"I am very sorry, General Huneric. I…."

"Don't apologize. It won't solve anything. It did show me something though."

Genseric looked up at this, frowning a little.

"And what would that be?"

Huneric closed his eyes, shielding his orbs, and therefore his emotions, from Genseric. If only he knew how the elderly general was feeling right now. If only he knew.

"You need a teacher, and I think that I can help you with that."

Genseric could only gawk at this, his brain receiving the equivalent of a blow to the stomach, totally blown away by the proposal.

"And please close your mouth. It looks ridiculous."

* * *

 **Hola pola. This is a rahter fast update isn't it? So yeah, some interesting things surrouding Genseric happened. Next, Malefor finally enters the home of the Withwara tribe. Next update is already in the works, so it will probably come fast. As far as story progression is concerned, I know this chapter probably feels empty and shit, but I do have to say that I am finally happy with what I created. I can also say that I will stop with adding extra characters all the time. I had written out beforehand who I wanted to use in this story, but I feel like I rushed things. Whatever the case, I hope you all enjoyed this shorter chapter.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder.**

 **See ya.**

 **PTPD**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16**_

 _ **To get what you love, you must first be patient with what you hate.**_

 _ **Al-Ghazali (1058-1111)**_

 _ **Balance out the good things and the bad that have happened in your life and you will have to acknowledge that you are still way ahead. You are unhappy because you have lost those things in which you took pleasure? But you can also take comfort in the likelihood that what is now making you miserable will also pass away.**_

 _ **Boethius (480-524)**_

* * *

A shiver went down Gaul's spine when he entered the enormous halls of Amanitore's underground palace. In many ways, it looked like the dark structures inside mount Malefor. An untrained eye would almost say that the two palaces had been constructed by the same person, but they would be sorely mistaken. Instead of the dead, lifeless stone walls that covered the walls of the mount belonging to the dark master, these walls were covered with endless drawings and carvings depicting endless battles and wars, but always with the same outcome.

The victory of the apes. The enormous roof of the halls was so huge and high up that Gaul would have sworn that even Thrasamund should have been at least ten times bigger to at least touch the lowest point with her horns. The light in the darkness was provided by big bowls filled with fire, standing every five meters, following the pathway. The enormous roof itself was barely visible through the blackness, and it was supported by gigantic pillars, each and every one depicting even more battles.

Gaul looked in front of him, gulping a little at the sight he saw. A big wooden door separated him from the female that he dreaded to meat so much. Sweat began to poor out of his skin, but he tried to keep his composure. The dark master was with him, and he couldn't show fear in his view. Speaking about the dark master, Tenebris himself was quiet impressed by the building himself. His mouth had a small smile on it, clearly enjoying the apparent beauty, but also the sheer power this structure had in its design.

He respected the perfect job that this designers had done to create such a masterpiece, and as a great collector of ancient art, he greatly enjoyed gawking at the many sculptures and carvings of the many ape gods, half gods, and many mortal kings that once ruled the ancient ape kingdom. But also he had noticed the door, and with this, he decided to look at Gaul. Tenebris grinned a little when he saw the shiver going up and down on the purple ape's body. It amused him that the ape king himself, always talking and boasting about how fearless he was, was now almost running away from a confrontation with a simple warrior queen, as Amanitore called herself. Tenebris didn't underestimate her power though. He too had heard the tales told by the other apes in his army, and they were unsettling to say the least. Amanitore was apparently a soldier that did not agree with the politics of Gaul. Although she too desired the return of the ape kingdom and its lands, she still held a deep rooted hatred for the species that took those lands from them to begin with.

Dragons.

It complicated things greatly, and sadly enough she actually had a large portion of support and warriors to back her up. The many dead apes that had fallen through the years weren't forgotten yet, and Amanitore's views greatly appealed to the many family members of those who died in these battles. As a result of this, she despised Gaul for even thinking about joining forces with a dragon. Still, everyone was able to turn their views around. They just needed a good push in the back. In the worst case, one resulting in their fall. This didn't took away his amusement at how scared Gaul was from this female.

"Fear never gets old." Tenebris thought.

By this time Gaul had finally found the courage to open up the door, and to look at what was behind it. His pupils widened a little in awe, and even Tenebris couldn't keep himself from making a surprised huff at what he saw. There, high above the ground, was a throne levitating above the ground. It was kept in the air by four strong iron chains, hanging from the dark ceiling. The chains were silver in color, and the throne itself wasn't something to joke about either. Tenebris, being the art lover that he was immediately recognized the throne.

It was the throne that actually belonged to Gaul. It was the throne of Brennus. It had been created before Pharamond's death by the ape king Brennus as a gift for his son, Cassibelanus. Since that day, every new ape king was crowned on this throne, and it hadn't been moved from its rightful place, until some years ago. Probably stolen by ordinary thief's, was the consensus back then. Apparently they were wrong. It had been here all this time, but that wasn't the most surprising part.

That honor went to what, or better who was sitting in the throne. There, high above the ground, sat a female ape, but she looked barely like any of her kind. Instead of the large and clumsy bodies of her kin, she had a slim, graceful and slender body, closely resembling one of the many beautiful goddesses the apes talked about. Her fur was pitch black, and the skin underneath it wasn't much different. The only change of color were some pale white stripes on her face, mixed with some red outlining. Her eyes were the usual white, although her's held more intelligence than any other ape ever had. Her attire was also something to talk about.

A weird looking cloth was wrapped around her upper body, the color being white. For her lower regions, she had some kind of long skirt, but with open sides, giving every ape and dragon alike a shameless view of her beauty. To match her face, this piece of clothing was the same blood red color, with a white design of figures on it, mostly resembling snakes. Her arms were decorated from her shoulders to her hands with white and red stripes, resembling the stripes of a tiger. There were two iron bracelets wrapped around her biceps, both of them engraved with some carvings in the ape language.

The fur on the top of her head had been grown in such a way that they came together in long gropes of hair, almost being as long as she was tall. It was called dreadlocks, if Tenebris had remembered correctly, but he wasn't sure. The most impressive thing tough, was the big silver crown she had on her head, decorated with white and red horns. By the look of it, they had been cut off from dragon skulls, sending a clear message to every ordinary dragon that entered her halls. Tenebris wasn't an ordinary dragon though, and he could respect some good craftsmanship when he saw it.

It did took some time for the self-proclaimed queen to notice the two guys standing beneath her. She seemed to be occupied with sharpening her sword, an enormous piece of iron decorated with many more engravings and designs being made on it. From the moment she saw them though, there was clear shift in her demeanor. Her pupils became smaller, until they were almost mere dots in her head, and she lifted her nose a little, looking down at the two figures down on the ground.

"Gaul. Wat is hier in godverdomme de bedoeling van? Ik dacht dat ik gezecht had dat ik u afzichtelijk gezicht hier niet meer wilde zien." She hissed.

Gaul visibly cringed under her harsh words, and although Tenebris couldn't understand what was being said, he clearly saw that there was no friendship here. He didn't expect anything else though.

"Excuseer me, vrouwe Amanitore, maar…." Gaul tried, but his excuses were mowed down by a clearly angry queen, although she kept her composure and she didn't shout. Still, the venom in her voice was clear.

"Niks te excuseren, gij vuile onderkuiper. Ik had u al eerder gezecht dat ge kon doodvallen met u gezever. Ik zie niet waarom ik u nu nog zou laten leven nu ge uzelf zo vrolijk in mijn klauwen smijt."

Tenebris was getting tired of being kept out of the conversation, and decided to enter the discussion.

"That's all nice and all, but can't we calm down a little. We are all civilized people here, and it is rude to leave someone out of a conversation."

Amanitore's attention was now redirected to Tenebris, and her eye's only became more filled with fury.

"Keep your talks about manners for yourself, filthy dragon. Your kind are the last beast's that should try to tell me how to behave."

Tenebris nodded, pretending to give in, but he wasn't ready yet.

"We have just come in peace, great queen. There should be no ill will between us. I am more than my species."

Amanitore snorted at that.

"Tell that to millions upon millions of dead heroes of my people, all killed because of their species, their race."

Tenebris sighed. This would become a hard conversation. Race was always a difficult subject, and certainly with an oppressed people.

"I promise you that I have nothing to do with my kind or with race related issueless. I merely fight for equality for every kin in this realm. I fight to give the suppressed a voice, to give a helping hadn't to the people who need it. Aren't we similar on that front?"

"We share totally nothing, dragon." She spat at him.

"Now, get your pathetic paws of my floor. You are ruining it."

Tenebris grinned at this.

"As you wish, your highness."

Before anyone noticed what was happening, the dark master shot up in the sky, flying right at the warrior queen. With one swift punch, he tried to knock her from her high throne, but to the dark master's surprise, his claws were blocked by an enormous piece of metal. Her sword.

"You didn't thought I would let you kill me that easily, little shite." She said, a small grin on her face.

"Who said anything about killing. Crippling is already sufficient." He replied, a grin on his face. With an enraged screech, Amanitore tried to behead the dark lord, but his dodge was quicker. Trying to find a hole in her defense, Tenebris had to admit, that this was proving rather difficult. Hit after hit she took, but he couldn't hit her body. Her frail body may have looked way to weak for that big sword she wielded, but she now proved that she was very capable of handling it. Even when the green dragon shot fireballs at her, she dodged or deflected them with her sword, still not going of her throne.

At this time, Gaul had started to fight too. An army of Amanitore's supporters had flooded the room, and the ape king could barely fend them off. This was something else than the defenseless minions he killed at the mountain. This were all trained warriors in their own right, and they were out for his blood. All kinds of insults were screamed at his direction, ranging from childish to highly offensive.

Still, Gaul did everything in his power to keep them at bay. He barely deflected an otherwise fatal blow to his neck, until he heard one of the apes scream something. The others stopped assaulting their former king, and to said king's surprise, they backed up a little. He wanted to make a small cry of joy, but that quickly turned to horror when he saw why they did what they did. There, standing right in front of him, surrounded by other apes, was an enormous commander ape, probably a former captain of him. This ape had muscles looking like one given by the gods, his frame looking more like a monster then an ape. To Gauls surprise, this beast could actually talk.

"My name is Ceretic, and you will die by my hand." He bellowed, his voice sounding more like a roaring demon than as a normal ape. Still, Gaul couldn't let his fear show.

"I don't care. A king does not die by the hand of a lowly servant." He taunted, a forced grin on his face. Not that he really had anything to grin about. This Ceretic guy was way more trained, or so his body seemed to tell. Looks could be deceiving, but even Gaul had to admit that bowing down to this giant became a more believable scenario with every passing second. Ceretic didn't waste any time on words though, instead opting for an immediate attack, his right hand wielding a sword fitting for his posture.

Large and ridiculously heavy looking. With one heavy blow, the sword came down above the ape king, leaving no space for an escape. Gaul's skull would have been split in two if it wasn't for his quick reflexes, bringing his sword up to meet the other one. An enormous shock went down his spine when the force of the blow was transferred from iron to iron. Gaul's master wasn't doing that much better though, Amanitore proving herself at being a threat to be reckoned with.

Tenebris had just tried another attempt at clawing at the arms of the warrior queen, but this attack was met again with the swift blow of her sword. The dark master had to admit that, although being nothing more than a scratch, these wounds made by her sword began to get on his nerves. This little play had gone one for long enough, and his patience had already been tested enough these last months.

Just like his other attacks, the dark master pretended like he would try another attack at Amanitore's arms, but still keeping enough force behind so it didn't seemed like he was faking it. In a reflex, the female brought her sword up to deflect the blow, leaving her throne undefended. Tenebris grinned when he saw the realization dawn upon the ape her face that she had fucked up massively, but it was already too late. One big fireball was enough to melt two of the four iron chains keeping the throne up in the air.

In a futile attempt to stay at her height, Amanitore tried to grab the golden backside of the throne, but the enormous weight of her sword pulled her down to the ground before she had any chance to save herself. With a heavy bang, her body collided with the ground. To Tenebris his surprise, she still moved after she had probably broken every bone in her body. Still, her fall didn't go unnoticed. The other apes looked at their fallen leader, doubt on their face. Gaul on the other hand used this moment to thrust his sword forward, penetrating Ceretic's throat. The enormous ape began to vomit, blood and other bodily fluids pouring on the floor.

A silence hang in the room, disregarding the moaning coming from Amanitore. Nobody dared to move. The ape rebels were confused about their next course of action, Gaul was just trying to sneak out of the room, and Tenebris was thinking about how he could properly end this struggle. He could enslave these apes, making them traitors in the eyes of the other ones.

This would cause a great problem for the forces of Amanitore, because they would have no leader and would be internally fragmented. He could also let them go, with a warning and the memory of his name, spreading fear across the land. Another option was asking them to join him, but Tenebris his mind had already been made up about what he would do. A small grin appeared on his face when he thought about what was about to come. Within the blink of an eye, he grabbed Amanitore from the ground, giving her a beautiful view of the room filled with her warriors, the throne dangling in the middle. Amanitore barely resisted, instead desperately trying not to scream out in pain thanks to the horrible broken bones she now had.

Before any of the apes on the ground could escape, they were all engulfed by flames. For five disgusting seconds, their screams filled the space, until every last bit of ape soldier had been scourged out of existence. Their queen could only watch. After what seemed to be hours, the onslaught of fire finally stopped, revealing nothing more than a black hall, with a puddle of iron in the middle. It had once been the throne of the ape kings. Seeing the last remnant of the apes their glorious past being destroyed was the final straw for Amanitore, and she screamed a howl filled with pain, sadness, grief and bitter hatred. Tenebris sighed a little when he heard the noise coming from the broken body in his paws.

"I am sorry Amanitore. Your intentions were good, but your vision doesn't fit in my plan and you would have just destroyed what I am working for so hard."

"And what would that be?" Amanitore hissed through her sharpened teeth. Were that tears running down her cheeks? Tenebris just sighed again. It pained him to see such a proud and furious warrior falling. In another world, at another time, they maybe could have been allies, but that last option was blown out the window from the very second they were met with hostility. Still, it was something that Tenebris found very saddening. But the end justifies the means.

"Equality, dear Amanitore. Just equality, in the most pure form. That's all I want."

The warrior-queen hissed again when she heard this, trying to give a snort, but the pressure hurting her damaged ribs. Her hatred for dragons was boiling so hard that she had the feeling that she could explode at any given moment. This was beyond humiliating, and her mind still couldn't wrap itself around the fact that all her brothers and sisters, her warriors, the apes that had always supported her though thick and thin, were now reduced to nothing more than a steaming heap of ash.

"Nothing pure can come from such a repugnant creature as a dragon. You do not have the power nor the heart to do such things. The world would be better off with your kind dead."

Tenebris chuckled at this.

"If only you knew how right you are."

* * *

Malefor couldn't pretend anymore. Her shoulders weren't just hurting, but they were feeling like someone had lit them on fire, after rubbing two gallons of salt in the wound. Her eyes could barely make anything out anymore, the pain taking over her whole body. Tremors went over her whole body, and thanks to her spontaneous moans and groans, she couldn't even pretend anymore. Not to herself, nor to her sister. Tenkamin didn't seem to care that much though, only looking over her shoulder occasionally to check if both of the sisters were still following. Malefor had to wonder, what kind of pressure could mold someone into being so cold and uncaring like she was.

In a sense, she had no right to speak about happenings from the past, but Malefor knew that she couldn't compare her situation with Tenkamin's. It did hit her though that this cold, and slightly arrogant dragoness was the sister of the wannebe, unsure and slight airhead that her brother Rhyddrech was. How could two people have the same parents and still differ so much? Again, she was very different from Cynder, but that didn't count. The situations were again incomparable. Still, these questions lingered in her mind. Would they see Rhyddrech again? Where was he even? If this was his hometown, were did he go?

Whatever the answer was, Malefor wouldn't know it, thanks to her eyes finally seeing that they were heading straight for a building. The healers house. With a groan, Malefor adjusted her walk a little so she could speed up for a moment. Every second not spend in the healers care was a wasted one. At this point, she didn't really care that she would trust her health to a total stranger, although she still debated on kicking the healers head if he asked stupid questions. Questions were something she could miss like a rotten tooth at the moment, and the healer would sorely regret it if he or she dared to challenge her patience. Her little change of pace was noticed though, and Cynder began to get worried again. Tenkamin on the other hand just raised her eye-ridge. Both of them wanted to say something, but Malefor her health decided to be faster than them. With one last gasp, Malefor blacked out and fell down right at the spot. In a panic, Cynder ran to her sister, kneeling down next to it.

"Mally !" she gasped, her paws grabbing her sister in an attempt to keep her on her feet.

"Mally, what's wrong. Answer me Mally." She said, frenzy taking over. In her panic, she didn't hear the quiet sigh of Tenkamin.

"Petty immigrants." She groaned. Without giving any more thought to the situation, she walked past the two sisters, heading right for the healers house. After knocking once, she waited patiently until the healer of the city presented herself. Within seconds, the door opened to reveal another stunning green female, her eyes looking friendly at the person at the door. Tenkamin almost had to laugh when she saw the reaction of the healer when she realized that the daughter of their chief was standing in front of her humble home. The healer began to stutter, but Tenkamin cut her off. They didn't have all day after all.

"There is a wounded person on your doorstep. Please care for her while I am gone. Don't let them leave until I say so, understood?"

The healer seemed to struggle a little bit with keeping up, but from the moment she noticed the bleeding body of Malefor, her years of training kicked in and she turned serious within the blink of an eye. There was a wounded person, and she needed to cure that person. That was her mission, and she would finish her job no matter what. Certainly when it is an order by lady Tenkamin herself.

Working on auto-pilot, she walked over to the body of Malefor, pushing Cynder out of the way in the process. Ignoring the purple dragoness her protests and emotional babble, she looked at the job at hand, and she realized that she needed to bring the body inside her house if she wanted to do this the right way. Without even looking, she pointed at Cynder, gesturing her to help with carrying her sister inside the healers house. She didn't need any more explanation for that, and together they carried Malefor inside.

By this time, Tenkamin had already flown off, but the healer didn't care, and Cynder didn't care either. She just wanted this to end well. When they finally dropped the heavy body of the purple dragoness on a bed, Cynder sighed. She had to admit that it began to get tiring to be under stress for this long. She needed a break. Without putting much more thought into it, she dropped herself on the floor, her eyes closing immediately, thoughts being replaced by dreams and nothingness. When the healer finished preparing Malefor for the operation, she noticed Cynder lying on the ground.

An irritated sigh escaped her mouth, but she couldn't help but smile at the sweet sight. She had worked the whole day, healing every client she had. In the morning, she had been unfortunate enough to get the patrol job, and to top it all off, Igraine went missing again. It had irritated her to no end that none of the others in the patrol party were even compassionate enough to start a search party, instead opting for the we-will-deal-with-it-later approach. Still, at least she had had a sweat moment with Gorlois. A blush came to the healer her cheeks when she thought about the situation. He had called her by her nickname, and although people tended to do that on more than one occasion thanks to her already complicated name, it was still something special. Gorlois had always been the mannered one, and so he had always insisted on calling her by her official birth name.

"Gwenhwyfach." She said to herself.

"Get it together girl. There is someone who needs you more now."

And so she redirected her attention to the operation table, starting her job. Still, the thought about Gorlois kept on lingering in her mind.

* * *

Tenebris had finally returned to his cozy room in Shalamaser. A smile graced his face, making him look even more menacing then he usually was. The dark master couldn't help but revel a little in his own achievements. Everything was going according to plan. In the north, the ice tribes had fallen victim to their own greed, their king choosing to do nothing, and to even Tenebris's surprise, even aid the dark master in his war. It kept surprising Tenebris how low the ice tribes were prepared to fall for some worthless coins and promises of being kept alone. How egocentric.

Didn't they understand that for his plan to succeed, they would need to face him eventually? Did they really think that they could coexist in this realm as long as Tenebris lived? How self-centered and egotistical could you be? Still, the dark master couldn't say that it took him of guard though. Cyril had been a northern ice dragon, and he had always been a good example of the flaws of his people. Egotistical, cold and very sensitive for temptation. For Cyril, It had been glory, and for the king of his people it was money. Other means, same concept.

It was almost like it came out of some scroll for children, but this was hard reality. Tenebris laughed at the thought. It had always amused him how much people acted like they were in some children's fiction. All those kings and chiefs thought they were clever with their little plots and their intrigue. They were all laughably stupid in that sense. None of their ambitions went further then something as shallow as some vague concept like power, wealth or revenge. None of them saw things big, never thinking outside their own pathetic tribes, towns, countries or lands.

The world of Avalar was such a beautiful and diverse world, always changing and turning and still people couldn't think outside of their own bubbles for one day. They didn't realize that every tribe, every kingdom and every empire would eventually fall. If it wasn't by the dark masters hadn't, it would be something else. Nothing lasts forever after all.

That was why Tenebris needed to save them. Save them from this vicious cycle of destruction and rebirth. He would give them something that would last forever. A realm that was peaceful, were everyone was equal, and were crime didn't exist. He would end all those power struggles. In his realm, there would be no kings, no chiefs, and no warrior-queens. Everyone would be equal, and no one would be leading someone else. But for that world to exist, he needed to destroy the old one. He needed to destroy all the kingdoms and chiefdoms, together with all their leaders, wealth and petty rivalries. A new world would rise, and the old would fall, together with all its decadence and other sins. Tenebris grinned when he thought about it.

"Pharamond would have been very proud." He heard a voice in his head say. Tenebris only nodded at this.

"I know."

* * *

 **Yes, I finished this thing finally. At first, this was planned to be finished a week earlier, but I got sick and I had to delay the date. I say sorry for that. Anyway, before I tell anything else, lets get on with the translations. For the ape language, I have chosen my native tongue, Dutch. I do have to say that I have used the Flemish way of writing some stuff, so if anyone would ever like to learn the language as it is spoken in the Netherlands, do not use my sentences as a good example. They will get you into trouble.**

 **Translations**

 **Wat is hier in godverdomme de bedoeling van? Ik dacht dat ik gezecht had dat ik u afzichtelijk gezicht hier niet meer wilde zien= What is the meaning of this, Goddamnnit. I thought that I had told you that I wanted to never see your ugly face here again.**

 **Excuseer me, vrouwe Amanitore, maar..= Excuse me, lady Amanitore, but...**

 **Niks te excuseren, gij vuile onderkuiper. Ik had u al eerder gezecht dat ge kon doodvallen met u gezever. Ik zie niet waarom ik u nu nog zou laten leven nu ge uzelf zo vrolijk in mijn klauwen smijt.= Stop your sorry excuses, you dirty (I don't know how to translate this). I have told you before that you can drop dead with all your bullshit. I do not see why I should let you live now you happily throw yourself in my claws.**

 **So yeah, that were the sentences. I do have to say that next chapter will come out next week( and I am sure this time). It is already half-finished, so it should be ready within some days. I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter. I do have to say that their will be added one more character to the plot, but he wont play a big part. I say this because I myself am getting tired of adding all these characters, but it is stronger then myself. Maybe I will remove the new character, although you already know who he is( no, not Spyro. He will come though, within five chapters or so.). Anyway, that was it folks.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder.**

 **See ya**

 **PTPD**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17**_

 _ **Daily, I examine myself in three areas. Have I done my best when doing things for others? Have I been trustworthy in my dealings with my friends? Have I revised the lessons I have been taught?**_

 _ **Zengzi (505 BC-435BC)**_

 _ **People today distinguish between knowledge and action and pursue them separately, believing that one must know before he can act... . They say [they will wait] till they truly know before putting their knowledge into practice. Consequently to the end of their lives, they will never act and also will never know.**_

 _ **Wang Yangming (1472-1529)**_

* * *

Tenkamin was desperately trying to conceal her fear when she entered her father's throne room. Many had written poems and scrolls about how beautiful the hall was, describing its magnificence many and many times. It was all a bunch of bollocks to the young female.

She had always thought that words couldn't capture images. An image was something you enjoyed, something that only you could see, and no word or paint could ever capture the beauty of the reality that had been witnessed by your eyes. Still, she didn't really understand why anyone would write poetry for something as casual as a room, although she had her suspicions.

Many of the poems had been written by neighboring tribes, and they had a tendency to kiss the ass of whoever had the biggest castle or army, and the Withwara tribe were the rulers in these woods. This didn't took away that Tenkamin felt only resentment for those pathetic servants. They had no dignity, no allure and certainly no idea of what kind of dark moments had happened in that room.

But child abuse wasn't really something people liked to write poems about, and who would admit that their king did such things to his own kids? It was nothing more than fuel for gossip, but it never reached the point of real accusations. Tenkamin was thankful for that. Her brother had it already hard enough as it was, she wouldn't add to that by revealing what happened to him.

Why he was always wounded, why his horns were always scarred. Abuse was something people liked to speculate about, and she wanted to spare her brother. Sometimes, keeping your mouth shut could solve more than a real exposing and punishment ever could. So Tenkamin kept her mouth shut. Nothing could take away her fears though.

"Speak, my daughter."

Tenkamin looked up at the throne in the middle of the room. There, on the throne was her granddad, Gawain. His green scales had become dull through the years, and his eyes were glazy. The healer Gwenhwyfach had said years ago that it would be wise to let Gawain resign. How had she worded it again? Oh yes, Tenkamin remembered. She had said that their chief was nothing more than a shell. His body may have been present with all its organs working, but his spirit had already moved on to join Galam in the afterlife.

There was nothing of substance anymore, but resigning was not an option. It would be like admitting that their tribe wasn't the pinnacle of strength, and they couldn't lose that image. They had to be strong, and so they needed to keep Gawain alive as long as they could. In reality, her father, Galvano was the real ruler. He had been the one who ruled this city-state, and as such he was the one who was responsible for all these people. And for her. There he was, standing next to the throne, like a parasite sucking the life out of his father Gawain.

"I have found the strangers my dear brother was talking about, father. I have freed them and brought them here. They are now with healer Gwenhwyfach, and I trust her to take good care of them." Tenkamin felt like puking when she saw the innocent and approving smile that flew over her father's face. She knew that this face was only meant for her, and it made her sick to her stomach. This bastard had the audacity to treat her like a princess, while her brother was probably bleeding at this very moment in the room next to them. But again, sometimes it was better to shut your mouth, and so she did.

"That's perfect, my dear daughter. I presume you have ordered our healer to keep them there, right?"

Tenkamin nodded. Again, her father smiled with love in his eyes that could only be meant for her.

"Perfect. Truly perfect. You know, you surely made your old man proud." He said. Tenkamin forced a warm smile on her face, but she felt more like screaming. Her years of hatred for this powerful yet important man had made her a very good actor. This had helped her very much with her assassin job, but lying against a stranger you were going to kill was something totally different than lying against her dad.

For starters, lying against her dad was considerably worse. A dead person wouldn't come back to haunt you, but her father did. Tenkamin had always prayed to the Gods that she could one day find the courage to push her father's face in the dirty shit-show that was his hypocrisy. But the Gods didn't answer, and her father kept on going.

Tenkamin could only hope that one day her brother would run away, or for his own best interest, just die. It had been her mother's salvation, and sometimes she wished that Rhyddrech just followed his mother in the releasing arms of self-inflicted death. But no, he refused to give in, and that angered Tenkamin greatly. She herself had given in years ago, when she realized that she would follow her sickening father to the end of days, but her brother refused, and she couldn't handle that that weakling could do something she never could.

Hold on.

"Can you keep them hidden for some days, sweetheart? Within some days, general Gelimer will come to negotiate about if we support lord Tenebris's cause or not, and I think he would be very displeased to now that we are hiding some of his refugees. It would cause some…..irritating situations. Politics, you know. Nothing you need to worry about, my child. Just do what I ordered, and maybe we will eat something nice tonight, if you like that."

Another fake smile.

"That would be wonderful, father."

Galvano laughed, signaling that the conversation was over and that Tenkamin needed to do what was asked of her. A shiver went down Tenkamin's spine when she saw the satisfied look on her father's muzzle. Oh how she wanted to tear that disgusting face from his skull. But yet again, she repeated what she had been doing for every second since she was born. Shut up and listen.

"Of course father. Your wish is my command."

Sometimes, Tenkamin wondered if her father really loved her, or if he knew about her feelings and just enjoyed playing with them like the snake he was. He did it with Rhyddrech, so why not with her? He had the nerve for it, and opportunity enough, but Tenkamin pushed those thoughts away. Her life was much easier if she just pushed all her worries away and accepted that she couldn't change a goddamn thing about the situation. It was better that way.

After giving her father a nod to acknowledge his higher social status, she left the room. She had a job to do, and she would finish it. Not that she had anything better to do anyway.

* * *

Agilulf was displeased to say the least. He had awoken some minutes ago, his head hurting like someone had punched it in with a rock. After clutching his head in his front paws for some minutes, he regained his senses, only to conclude that they had been captured. And by the looks of it, he was locked up in a Withwara prison. Again.

A sigh escaped his mouth. With a pained grin, he remembered that time so long ago, when he was in exactly the same prison as he was in now. He had vowed to the gods that he would never enter this place again. Back then, he had taken it seriously. Being locked up had awakened something in him that he had never felt before at that point. His smuggling career had never been the smoothest one, and he had to work very hard for every order, mostly thanks to the mess that his brothers always made.

He had always been the one who needed to do the hard work and it had been the first time that his whole world had been put to a stop. A captured smuggler was a worthless smuggler and he knew that all too much. And so, he was useless, and that was a hard pill to swallow. That day, he vowed to never allow such uselessness to enter his life again.

He wouldn't be the one who was nothing, who did nothing and that saw nothing. A grin came to Agilulf his face when he remembered all those emotions. It had been foolish and childish to assume that he would never be taken in again. At this point, he had accepted it as something of an occupational hazard, although he had to admit that getting caught and ending up in the same prison twice was quiet the achievement.

But the first time, he had been younger, more emotional unstable, and alone. To his surprise, they had locked him up in the same cell as his brother Authari. His sibling was still steadily unconscious, and judging by his lack of movement he would remain in this state for some hours. This wasn't anything new though. Authari, as tough as he may tried to be, was physically extremely weak and his body could handle very little damage.

He made up for this with his courage, character and intelligence, although he would always be the weakest link in their team. But he was his brother, and they been through enough together to know that they would always need each other. Authari would always need them.

Speaking of them, Agilulf began to look around for his other brother, but he couldn't see him. Again, not a surprise. Agilulf knew from experience that the Withwara's, although being extremely violent on the battlefield and on missions, were very caring and hospitable for everyone who entered their village. They had probably brought Alboin to their healer. If the blue dragon remembered correctly, her name was Gwenhywfach.

A smile came to his face when he thought about that girl. If he was captured anyway, it couldn't really hurt to get some pussy on the way could it? He should probably ask her out. But first he had to figure out how to get out of this jail. Last time, he had been freed thanks to some political negotiations. It had been pure coincidence that some others of his village had passed through the region smuggling some stuff. Sadly, they had been caught, but their missions had been one for their king Gundobad himself, so they were bailed out.

Thanks to some tactical moves, and after proving that he too was a northerner, he was freed too so he could return to his old ways. Agilulf sighed when he thought about his luck back then. It was practically impossible that that would happen again. King Gundobad wasn't stupid, so he had ceased all official smuggling in Withwara territory, leaving others like Agilulf to do the illegal stuff. And now he was here.

Locked up again, in the same cell. Fate had a weird way of playing with dragons, he thought. Still, he wasn't planning on staying here though. Judging by Tenkamin's reaction, she wouldn't let him go so easily this time, and he did not underestimate the daughter of one of the most notorious chiefs ever, Galvano the vile. She had inherited his temperament and lust for revenge, but she also had some qualities that were uniquely her own.

For starters, she had a tendency of getting jealous very fast. Agilulf chuckled when he remembered the days that he had first entered this town. He had been so angry, so filled with rage and so stubborn. He had screamed, spit and screeched, but no one even blinked an eye. Back then, he hadn't taken the time yet to learn the art of linguistics, so communicating with the natives was out of the question.

It seemed like yesterday that they had thrown him into this same cell, leaving him for their judges to be dealt with. His first days had been lonely and mostly filled with angry moping. And then there was Tenkamin. Agilulf couldn't help but sigh when he thought about her. She had been his light in the darkness, although neither he nor she could see it back then. They had been to young, to preoccupied to see the influence they had on each other. And when they did, it had been already too late. He was back in the cold north, and she was back in her cold palace. The blue dragon frowned, pushing the thoughts of that day away. He had been lazy for long enough. Time to figure out how to escape.

"But first, let's wake up our little girly girl here." He said, looking at Authari.

Authari eyes slowly opened.

"if you even so much as dare to call me a girl again, I swear….."

Agilulf couldn't help but give a wholeheartedly laugh. It seemed that being locked up with more than one person was indeed way more entertaining.

* * *

A small scratch. A soft dud. Small sounds, whispering like a voice. As in a dream, Cynder was woken up to the sounds of a normal day and she couldn't help but feel at peace when she heard the many calming noises. It was like nature was embracing her, and it wouldn't let go. If it was her choice, she would have been laying there for the rest of her life, just enjoying the warm blanket of comfort that surrounded her. But just like every time before, the world wouldn't wait, and she opened her eyes, looking around.

Cynder's memory wasn't back on track yet, so she was rather disorientated when she noticed in what kind of house she was. The walls were made of a warm and light brown shade of wood, giving the whole room a comfy look. The walls were decorated with small drownings of texts, similar to the ones carved on Rhyddrech's scales, but they weren't that big and noticeable to avoid them of being obnoxious. It gave the whole structure a calm spirit to it that most of the dark rooms in Tenebris's mount didn't have. The room was also filled with shelfs, all being stuffed with all kind of books and small containers with medical names written all over them, also made of wood. The construction as a whole seemed very comfortable to live in, and thanks to the incoming evening light through one of the many windows in the wall, the room seemed to burn with warmth.

"Admiring my room are we?"

Cynder turned her head around within the blink of an eye, facing the high-pitched voice she had heard behind her. To her surprise, she saw a rather young earth dragoness, holding some bloodied needles in her left paw. Her face held a friendly, welcoming smile and Cynder was struck by the nativity and innocence that laid in these eyes. Next she noticed that this dragoness wasn't that ugly either. Cynder had already noticed that most of the dragonesses in this town seemed to be what most other dragons would consider super models.

This one was no different. Just like the other once, she had the same slender body and the same smooth shiny scales that every female seemed to have here. Cynder did recognize that this dragoness wasn't someone to be taken lightly. The purple dragoness had seen that one of the shelves had a golden pair of claws on them. It were actually just small swords that were attached to a dragons claws, giving them more reach and making them way more deadly.

Very good for stealth attacks. Cynder did remember though that Rhyddrech had mentioned something about everyone in his hometown being an assassin, so this was probably more a decoration weapon than anything else. Still, a weapon was a weapon, and thus dangerous.

"Everything alright?" the dragoness asked, probably being concerned about Cynder's lack of a clear reaction to her first question. Cynder just nodded. Her mind was still trying to get its act together, all the memories of what happened before she went to sleep crashing down on her consciousness. Slowly but surely, she caught up with what was happening around her, and she managed to put up a fake smile.

"Yes, I am fine. Thank you."

The healer seemed not convinced, but she let it slide for the moment. Her patients needed her more at the moment. She walked over to a door in the wall, leading straight to the operation part of her house. Before she could enter though, she was stopped by Cynder's voice.

"How come I am here? If I remember correctly, I fell asleep next to your operation table." She asked. The healer nodded at this, a smile appearing on her face.

"I moved you while you were asleep. A room for the sick is no place to sleep for a girl like you." She said, an almost motherly look laying in her eyes. Again, Cynder was struck by how innocent and naïve those eyes looked at the world surrounding them. It surprised her that such eyes could also look at a bleeding, dying body and still keep the same childish sparkle in them. Not many people would be able to deal with that, but this one seemed to manage it perfectly.

"If you want to see your sister, just follow me." The healer said. Cynder frowned at this.

"How do you know that she is my sister?" she asked. The healer her reaction was a short, girly chuckle.

"Are you kidding? You too look almost identical. How else should I know that?"

Cynder just nodded, feeling a little ashamed for such a stupid question. But she didn't dwell on her mistake. She had learned to not do that years ago. It kept her alive and her mind healthy. In an attempt to get more comfortable and to drop the tension she still felt, Cynder decided to start some small talk.

"I am sorry if it is a rude thing to ask, but can I please now your name, lady healer?" Another Girly chuckle followed after her question.

"My name is Gwenhwyfach, but you can just call me Gwen or Gwenny. Just pick whatever tickles your fancy. What's yours?"

"Cynder. Nice to know you, lady Gwenhwyfach." Cynder replied.

Gwenhwyfach couldn't help but frown a little when she heard the dragoness say her name out loud. She totally butchered the pronunciation, and her refusal to use the easier route of just saying Gwen made her cringe a little. Still, it was nice to get to know someone, and certainly someone from outside the village. That rarely happened. Most outsiders were targets that needed to be killed, not to be talked with.

"Well Cynder, I have a surprise for you. Just follow me."

With these words, Gwenhwyfach opened the door, entering her workplace. To Cynder's joy, she saw her sister laying down on one of the many beds in the room. Malefor seemed totally healthy and although she was sleeping, Cynder couldn't deny that she looked better than she ever looked. Gwenhwyfach had taken the time to give Malefor a good bath, and she had brushed up the iron bracelets and other holds that were on her body. Her scales were shining like a mirror, and Cynder couldn't help but feel a little bit envious. Gwenhwyfach noticed her conflicted look tough, and she put her thumb up.

"You can clean yourself in my bathroom if you want." She reassured the sister. Cynder just nodded. She was already happy that her sister was still healthy. Only two bandages, wrapped around Malefor's shoulders reminded of the wounds. It was almost confusing for Cynder, seeing her sister laying there without any danger or threat surrounding them.

It was like she had entered a dream, and she would wake up any moment to the nightmare that their real life was. But they wouldn't. Fantasy was reality now. For the first time in years, something began to boil up inside Cynder. It was a mixture of every emotion she knew, every suppressed memory she had, and every feeling she had never acknowledged. In an impulse of raw and unfiltered feelings, she turned to Gwenhwyfach, and hugged her.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." She whispered.

Gwenhwyfach was confused, and a little creeped out, but her caring instincts came to the surface, and she returned the hug.

"It's alright, Cynder. It is all alright."

Normally, Cynder would have huffed such words away. They were lies, and they messed with one's mind. But now, for just this one minute, she believed them.

Everything was alright.

* * *

A knock shook the door of the city of the Withwara tribe. As usual, the priest entered his place at the eye hole to look who wanted to enter this place. Thanks to the fading evening sun, it became slightly more difficult to look outside, and the priest sighed when he couldn't immediately see what or who was outside. Why couldn't people just come on normal hours, when it wasn't an almost impossible task to see what was happening?

After sighing for a second time, the priest looked outside again, desperately trying to see what was out there. At first, he couldn't really see what was outside. It looked like a dragon, but this one was laying down, and clearly not moving. Slowly, the priest his eyes adapted to the dark, and his breath almost stopped when he saw what was outside. His stomach made a total turn, and he almost threw up. Panicking quickly he started to scream, trying to get the attention of others. But all help was too late. There, outside the save and sound walls of the Withwara tribe, was one of their own. A dragoness that had grown up inside these trusted lands. There, laying bloodied and maimed on the ground, was the body of Igraine, all life having left her eyes, keeping them in an everlasting plea to let the pain end. A single dried up stream of tears under her eyes reminded of the life that had been taken, but they had been of no use.

Somewhere, hidden behind the trees that shielded the city from the violent outside world, laid a dragon. His scales were plain white, giving him a ghostly appearance. His eyes were empty white holes, with no pupil accompanying them. The only other color that could be seen on his body was the grey color of his horns and claws. His name was Cleph, and he was the killer.

Cleph sat there, unmoving and emotionless. This lasted until he could hear the panicked screams of the priest in the city. A smile appeared on his muzzle. They had received his little gift. Tomorrow the real fun would start. He was almost trembling with expectation, but he kept himself in check.

If he wanted the show that he wanted, he needed to do this the right way. Still, he couldn't help but grin a little at the thought of what was going to happen in the coming day. Tenebris had made his point very clear. He needed to bring back Cynder and Malefor to him, but he said nothing about some fun along the way. Collateral damage if you will.

And maybe, if he enjoyed himself enough, he would probably kill those two traitors two. Tenebris wouldn't be too angry with him anyway. Or so he hoped. Still, if fun needed to cost a promise to the dark master, he would live with it. He could still kill the dark master too if he felt like it. A grin came to his muzzle when he thought about that. Yes, killing the dark master seemed like a splendid idea.

Finally a challenge. But first, he needed to wipe out that puny village. As an appetizer. And so, he laid his eyes upon the city, the flames of the underworld burning in his eyes. He could barely keep himself in check, his claws itching with the feeling that only pure bloodlust could give him.

He almost jumped out of the tree line, ready to attack the city, but he knew when to wait. He knew when to take his chances. And after all, a little waiting couldn't hurt. It wasn't like the city was still able to be saved. It had already died from the moment Cleph laid eyes on it. It just didn't know it yet. Tomorrow evening, the city would burn, and blood would paint the streets. The thought alone made a pleasured shiver go down Cleph's spine. But he waited.

He would get what he wanted eventually.

* * *

 **I have nothing to say about this chapter. I hope you all have a good night. I am going to sleep. It's way too late.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder**

 **See ya**

 **PTPD**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

 _ **I get a little upset and angry sometimes, but I never let it interfere with my smile**_

 _ **Tom Araya (1961-...)**_

 _ **The first duty of government is to protect the powerless from the powerful.**_

 _ **Hammurabi (1795 BC-1750 BC)**_

* * *

Cynder sighed when she felt the sweet taste of milk touch her mouth. Her eyes darted around the room, nervous and a little ashamed. She had just exposed her emotions to a stranger she barely knew. A person that had done almost nothing to earn her trust, although saving Malefor's life was a great plus. Cynder had been foolish to be so impulsive, to be so unguarded with her already fragile mind.

She had spent years of her life building mental walls with the uttermost care to be sure she would never collapse under the pressure that her hellish lifestyle ensured. Her barricade had been tested and pushed to its limits many times before, but it had survived each and every attempt at penetration.

Nothing could break the powerful structure around her sanity. Not the screams of a lonely baby, not the howls of a father avenging his family, nor those of mothers pleading for their children's lives. They were sad, they were angry but after all they were also dead, and that somehow eased Cynder's pain. She couldn't hurt them anymore. Their trail of suffering and pain had been ended, and was mostly mercifully short.

Cynder did not have this privilege though, and sometimes, when her mind was at its lowest point, she had envied those who perished under her claws. She hated that they could give their live protecting what they loved, that they could choose between life and death but her biggest issue was that they all did not wanted to die. But still they did, and she didn't. It had looked cruel to her back then.

Self-pity had taken hold of her in those moments of weakness, and it had pushed her sanity to its limits, but even then she still did not break. It was close, but not close enough. She had always believed that this was the ultimate proof that nothing would ever destroy her. She had been through enough to know the pain of life, the misery of existence and the horrors of war.

She thought she had seen it all, but she was wrong. In this tornado of mental torture and pain, she had forgotten that there was one thing that she had never seen. At least not meant for her that was, and that was the basic, casual and everyday emotion of kindness. It was almost ironic if she thought about.

Through years of suffering, she been accustomed to handle every horror imaginable, but her total lack of experiencing actual care made her do something she had never done in all her years of life. Even when Malefor scolded at her, when Thrasamund choked her or when Gunthamund tried to get touchy with her she had not thought about any of the many levels that those acts were wrong.

She refused to. But here, for the first time, she was met with genuine, honest and almost motherly care and interest, and it finally broke her. She did not know if it was because she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that something like kindness still existed in times like these, or because she was just so unfamiliar with the gestures surrounding it. It didn't matter really.

The result was exactly the same. Cynder had cried, screamed, howled and moped all at once and even if she did not wanted to confess it, her heart couldn't deny how much lighter it felt. It was like a blanket made of years of pent up bricks had finally been lifted from her head, finally opening her up to the world behind the veil. Almost poetic in a sense, although Cynder wasn't the most artistic figure. Artists were dreamers, and she had lost those back when she was made a slave to Tenebris.

"Soooo….., you escaped from Mount Tenebris?" Gwenhwyfach asked, seemingly unable to grasp that reality. Cynder lifted her head a little. They were both sitting on one of the many pillows laying around in the guest room, and the room was beautifully lit with evening lite by the many windows in the walls. A bowl of milk stood in front of Cynder. She had only heard stories about the strange liquid before, but she knew that from this day on, she would never taste anything else. It was way better than the sour water they had to drink back at mount Tenebris.

"Yes." She replied in something that was almost a whisper. A small nod accompanied the acknowledgment, showing how much she meant it. Gwenhwyfach seemed to be very impressed by her story though. Her eyes had begun to water when she heard of all the pain and misery they had been through, and she had started gasping when she heard of the cruelties they had committed. It was clear to Cynder that, although this girl was a healer, she hadn't seen that much of the world yet.

"I…I…I don't know what to say. I had never imagined that or king would let himself in with such a monster. " a shudder went down her spine when she thought about it.

"How times have changed." She added. Cynder just nodded, although she kept that thing about Gwenhwyfach's king in mind. What was that guy planning? Anyone who even thought about talking with Tenebris was clearly not one of the good guys, and she needed to know why he wanted that. Still, she wouldn't ask those questions. Not now. She had just been greeted by this kind healer, and she didn't want to seem suspicious to these people.

Back in the mountain, she had heard stories of tribes that worshipped their kings as demi-gods, and she did not want to commit blasphemy. Her life had finally calmed down, and she needed her rest. But she would get to the bottom of this. If this tribe planned to support her old master, she would work against it in every way imaginable. It was partly making up for her past sins, but also to stop new ones from happening. Enough dragons had died. She wasn't naïve though. She knew damn well that there would be many more bodies to be added to the pile of corpses, but trying to at least make it smaller wouldn't hurt.

"Can I ask you something?"

Cynder was shaken from her thoughts by Gwenhwyfach's question, and she could barely stutter a yes in confusion, but it was enough for the healer.

"Do you want some cookies? "

Cynder was a little bit taken aback by the sudden and out-of-nowhere question, but she understood the intention. The healer was probably just trying to lighten the mood, because the conversation had become rather dark. Again, Cynder questioned how someone so afraid of anything negative could hold an occupation like hers. Looks could be deceiving, but with this dragoness even her character didn't match the tone of her work. But then again, Cynder herself did not really had a 'job', if you even wanted to call it that, that matched her character. She wasn't too good though at self-knowledge, so she left that question open for another day. Time brought wisdom after all.

Eventually, Gwenhwyfach returned with a wooden plate decorated with cookies with decorations on them like Cynder had never seen before. Instead of the brown clumps of doe that most ape's called cookies, this were beautifully shaped forms with endless decorations made on them in every color that the purple dragoness could think off. They were probably made of sugar, and Cynder couldn't help but wonder if this was the reason that Gwenhwyfach seemed lightheaded all the time. It would explain a lot, but it wasn't really that important.

What was more important was the army of sweet, delicious food waiting to be devoured by the mouth of the hungry purple dragoness. Seeing the actual cookies awakened years of starvation and other bad habits, and so her manners faded to the back side, replaced with a curiosity and a fixation for food.

Before Gwenhwyfach could properly explain what the process of making the cookies had been like, like so many dragons tended to do, Cynder dived into the pile of sugar, seemingly swallowing it all in one big bite. With a lot of noise and crumbles, she managed to swallow the heap of sweetness, and it brought a feeling of delight to her. Never had she tasted such delicious things before. It made her wonder if this was just a typical dish around here, or if she had just totally mist this part thanks to her service to the dark master.

"Well…So..euhm….You liked it?" she heard from behind her. With a groan of shame, Cynder remembered that she was still inside someone else's house, a healer no less, and she had just behaved like a total swine, practically speaking shitting all over the sweet dragoness her hospitality. So much for making a good first impression.

"I am sorry." She blurted out quickly, trying to keep the hordes of cookies in her mouth. To her relieve, Gwenhwyfach just giggled a little.

"You truly are something special." She laughed

Cynder chuckled a little at these words. If only this healer knew how right she was, she wouldn't have let her enter this beautiful home to begin with.

The moment was broken by a loud horn sound droning through the house. The whole building seemed to shake on its foundations, but Gwenhwyfach seemed not to be worried. The opposite even, she seemed rather happy.

"Our king calls to us. It's time for the evening prayer. Do you want to come?"

Cynder was nothing short of taken aback by this question. The tremors had made her ready for an attack, her warrior instincts leaving nothing to chance. She had learned time and time again that events such as this never went without danger, and until now it had always been a right assumption. But she wasn't in a war zone right now, and she wasn't in an army at the moment, so maybe her views needed to change. Whatever the case, Cynder did not know the answer to the question. She had never been a religious person, and the only time ever it had been even brought up was years ago, when Malefor told her about what she knew about the world outside the mountain.

 _Outside, in remote villages, far removed from cities and centra of reason and logic, there are villages were people led themselves be led by fairytales and fear. This is what some call religion._

Cynder couldn't help but be curious to what this was. She had never seen something like this, at least not on this scale. Back in the day, she had heard tales of ape's that would sacrifice their children to their gods, but she didn't really believe those stories then, and she certainly didn't now.

But what peeked her interest the most was the mentioning of the king. If she remembered right, this guy was Rhyddrech's father, so it wouldn't be an illogical conclusion to think that he wouldn't be far from his dad. Still, Cynder felt a small portion of her not wanting to go.

Something deep inside her, turning and brewing, seemingly constantly moving, seemed to make her hesitant to join in on the festivity. Gwenhwyfach pleading look made her shove away those feelings for some moments. What harm was there in joining this healer? It was the least she could do to thank her for the enormous help she had been to their survival. It would be nothing short of s small repayment for the fine work Gwenhwyfach had delivered.

And it wasn't like she had been all that polite to her, so it made perfect sense to do this one thing. Still, it made her feel uncomfortable but most of all, she had to leave Malefor behind. It wasn't like her sister was in any real danger, but her senses did not trust the situation. Something would happen within some days. She just knew it. But whatever it was, it did not matter right now.

"I would be honored if I could join you with your festivity, Gwenwhyfach."

Gwenhwyfach practically screeched in pleasure when she heard it, followed with an enormous rambling in her native tongue, making it impossible for Cynder to understand even a single word the dragonesses was spitting out. Eventually, she calmed down though, and before Cynder could even ask the way, the healer had already opened her front door.

"Come on, we don't have all day." She rambled in barely comprehensible English. Cynder nodded, following the green dragoness.

"Oh, and please call me Gwen from now on. I am tired of hearing my name out loud all day. It gets…..well…..tiring."

Cynder just nodded.

"Ok lady Gwenhwyfach."

The healer just chuckled, darting away to the source of the noise. Cynder followed as a shadow.

* * *

A cloud of pain and groaning kept her from awakening. But just like all things, even this disappeared. With an irritated groan and some half-hearted cursing, Malefor opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the soft and fluffy surface she was laying on. Looking at what it was, she saw that she laying on some sort of pillow, although this one was covered with a layer of small pieces of wool, making the whole surface a blanket of softness. Malefor couldn't help but smile a little at the feeling of the touch made by this fantastic thing.

"I need one for myself." She thought, grinning at the thought. Her carefree attitude was quickly dropped when the memories of her past days hit her. After putting one and one together, she quickly concluded that she had to be inside the house of the healer. If that was the case though, were was the healer? And where was Cynder? An uncomfortable shiver went through her body when she heard the deafening silence that hung in the room. But she also heard something else. Breathing.

"Hello there."

With a gasp, she looked up. There, in front of her own pillow was a whole row of the same ones. At the end of the row, at the last pillow, partly covered in the shadows, laid a figure. Malefor couldn't quiet see who or what it was, but one small color betrayed who. Malefor almost stopped breathing when she saw the blue, dirty scales of the danger at the end of the room. It was the dragon she had mutilated.

Alboin.

Slowly but surely, Malefor's eyes penetrated the dark, and to her shock, she could see that most of his head was covered in blood soaked bandages. Thanks to all of this, it was an almost impossible feat to get a good look at the facial expression made by the dragon. His body wasn't that much better off, many stitched wounds and other scars covering his damaged body.

"Everything alright?" he asked. Malefor looked up to meet the dragon his eyes, those cursed eyes. To her surprise, she found genuine interest, and she decided to answer.

"Ehm…Yes, I am perfectly fine. Thank you sir." Cynder said. Alboin chuckled at this response.

"I believe you, dear lady. You look and sound totally perfect. I mean, looking at you is already enough to convince me. Those beautiful scales. Those shining eyes. You truly look perfect. Compared to me, that is."

Malefor felt a wave of discomfort wash over her. Although she, strangely enough, couldn't hear any accusation in his voice, she couldn't help but feel guilty. And that disturbed her. She was the dark master for fuck sakes. She shouldn't be able to feel remorse.

She did feel remorse for her other killings though, but that was different. Those were done outside of her own control, and she could only watch. And then there was Cyril of course. Malefor began to get confused. Was she really the dark master? Was she really still that mighty powerful master she had once been?

If not, who was she? It wasn't like she forgot. She still knew who she had been before the transformation, but it only downed on her now, after all this years, that the present Malefor was not comparable with the old one. And if it was, she couldn't see it. Her mind was clouded with confusion, and she couldn't think strait anymore. It seemed like her brain was drowning itself in waves of confusion and panic, and an irrational fear began to take over her emotions, until….

"Everything still alright there? "

Malefor turned to the blue dragon, barely able to nod.

"You seem very distressed. Can I ask what the problem is?" he asked.

Malefor shook her head, trying to give a friendly smile.

"No sir, I don't want to bother you with my problems." She hastily said, before realizing that such phrasing would probably only spike his curiosity more. Hooray. Alboin smiled at her though, making Malefor rather surprised.

"Come now. Aren't you a little bit too old to be lying like a hatchling?"

Malefor frowned.

"W…what do you mean?" she asked.

Alboin just smiled back at her.

"You aren't as unknown as you want to be, Malefor, nor are you difficult to recognize. I have spent enough time in libraries and scrolls to learn of your existence, and I have to say that your looks don't disappoint. You truly are just as stunningly dangerous looking as they say."

Malefor couldn't help but feel extremely uncomfortable around this guy. His questions were way to probing and his answers were way to knowing. Like he knew this would happen, and he had prepared himself months in advance. What this guy did and didn't know was a total mystery, and Malefor could not really use someone like this. Still, she hoped that by keeping the conversation going, she would hit some friendly ground and maybe convince this guy that she wasn't such a monster as he seemed to have read.

"Thank you, I guess."

Malefor didn't really knew what to answer after that. It was extremely weird to get compliments, on her looks of all things, and she still struggled to accept this body as her own, making this whole experience ten times more uncomfortable then it normally would have been. Alboin only chuckled at her answer though.

"So well mannered." He said. "Just as I imagined you would be."

Malefor ignored his second compliment, instead focusing on the second part of his talk. Why would he have any imaginations about her? He answered the question himself though, thanks to Malefor's confused look.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I won't alert anyone. I am just a fan of your work, that's all. Nothing to get worked up about."

Malefor was rather shocked by this statement.

"F..Fan? Of my work?" she almost stuttered. Alboin chuckled again.

"Yeah. I mean, come on. You are, next to other legendary criminals like Pharamond, Gunthamund and Cleph the only one that brought so much fear into the peoples their hearts. Where I come from, people have more fear for you brining a visit than one of Tenebris himself."

"And why would that be?"

Alboin grinned at this question.

"Tenebris, and even Gunthamund to some extend, can be reasoned with. But you, you are just a killing machine straight out of the underworld. You just attack your target and destroy it, no questions asked. No feelings, no emotion but one hundred percent results. The perfect killer."

"And why is that a good thing?" Malefor groaned. She was shocked to say the least. This dragon seemed to not understand what kind of torture that went with her existence. His enthusiasm about the subject only made Malefor more creeped out. What was wrong with this guy? He did answer her question though.

"Think about it. You are the perfect warrior. Your life is one adventure after the other. How cant that be a good thing?" he asked. Malefor was quick to reply.

"What do you think about being a slave for the rest of your days? Serving a master with values you don't support? What do you think about that?"

Alboin laughed at this, making Malefor a little bit angry. It seemed like the blue dragon didn't care at all what she had been through, what she had done. Didn't it matter to him?

"Being a slave is only a state of mind. If you resist, you will always be a slave, but if you give in you will reach the greatest heights. You will become the master. That's always the case with power. And on the topic of values, they are only needed to justify your deeds. Values come after the action, not before it. If you just leave your values and your resistance on the doorstep, you would have beaten Tenebris ages ago."

Now Malefor began to get really angry.

"Did you just call me weak?" she hissed through her teeth. Her mind still remembered what she had done to this dragon what made him look like the mummy he was now, but if he went on like this he would need a lot more of those bandages.

"I called you nothing, although I have to say that I do admire your refusal to give in, as futile and senseless as it might have been. The only thing I wanted to say was that maybe, if you had just embraced the power you were given, you could have ended this war decennia ago. That's all."

Malefor thought about this. Could this really be true, Could it be that by refusing the powers she had, she had refused her only chance of ending this war? If true, what would this say about her? Did she really refused to see a solution so clear in front of her?

No.

She wouldn't go on that road of thought again. She had already blamed enough on herself, and this wasn't her fault.

" Using a weapon of your enemy against himself only proves that you are just as much of a monster as he is. I am better than that." She said sternly, leaving no room for debate.

"Whatever you say, little dragoness. Anyway, could you tell me where I can find my brothers? It would help enormously if you would point me to them."

Malefor groaned. This began to get more and more complicated with every passing minute, and she enjoyed none of it.

* * *

A white figure travelled through the woods surrounding the city of the powerful Withwara tribe. His paws barely made a print in the ground, giving the impression that a ghost was wandering around, but this dragon was very much alive. Cleph had been compared with ghost's his whole life.

With pleasure he remembered the times his sweet brothers and sisters cowered in fear every time he entered the room. They couldn't even look at him back then, and they certainly couldn't anymore. He had made sure of that. Oh, the sweet memories. It had already started from the day of his birth.

One time, after another mental breakdown thanks to her hellish offspring, his mother had confessed that she had tried to drown him after she saw her malformed and demon-looking child she had created. She had been too weak to do it though, and Cleph had made sure of making her regret that decision to the end of her worthless days.

If there was one thing that angered him, it where people like his mother. Those dragons that threatened but did not finish it. Those who didn't have the balls to kill, although they clearly had the chance to do it. It made him feel sick that his mother hadn't been able to kill him back then, but he had settled that debt. Cleph almost laughed when he remembered how he grabbed his mother by her horns.

She had been weak back then. The years of abuse and constant stress had taken their toll on her, and she looked, acted and thought way older then she was. Her frail arms and stump claws had tugged at him, clawed at him at every chance they had. It amused him how little this achieved. Nothing could hurt him. He was a demon. She had told him this every single day of his life, and he was very happy to live up to the name. If she wanted him to be monster of death and destruction, than he would be. It was the least he could do for her, as a farewell gift.

Rain had been pouring down that day, but it didn't bother Cleph. It only added to the perfect atmosphere he wanted so badly. As if the gods gave their final approval for this feast of sin that would envelop. He dragged his mom outside by her horns. By then, the old dragoness her struggles had become weaker and less frequent, probably realizing how futile it was.

He pulled her, every now and again clawing at the base of her horns, scraping the scales away, revealing the flesh underneath. Celph couldn't help but feel the smallest pang of guilt striking at his soul at that moment, but he had promised himself that he would be the demon his mother made him out to be. It was what he had to be. It was all he could be. It was what he should be. With all his power, he grabbed her head, turning her to their destination. His mother only gasped at what she saw. It was the same water stream she had wanted to drown her child in so many years ago. Her child that was now holding her by her head, humiliating her to the lowest degree. The irony struck her, but it didn't matter. She didn't expect anything less of her son.

Cleph said nothing. Instead, he threw his mother in front of the stream. Her body was too weak to get up on her own, and she just laid there, unmoving. It didn't took long for her son to get next to her, and with more force then she could handle, he grabbed her horns again, forcing her head above the stream of merciless water. With a gasp, she could see her own reflection in the naturally fluid, and also her son's.

His eyes, focused on her, almost no emotion in them, preparing to kill their own creator. In a weird coincidence, their eyes met and locked on to each other. Neither of the two could look away, shocked as they both where that this would ever happen. Celph's mother immediately felt a weird flow of ….acceptance entering her. She had lived for years in misery and suffering, and all thanks to this horrible child.

Her demon. But now, now she had accepted her own demise, she could finally acknowledge why she had spared her child all those years ago. Why she didn't had the courage to do what she needed to do. Why nothing, even after all his pain had ever triggered her own murderous impulses. A small smile appeared on her features, and she could see the smallest hint of confusion in her sons eyes. Without a moment of hesitation, she used her old croaked, almost whispering voice.

"I love you, son. I will always love you."

Cleph hesitate for a spilt second, but not one moment longer. With all his force he pushed his mother's face underwater, filling her lungs with the liquid of her own demise. She didn't struggle. She didn't scream. She just let the water enter her old, used lungs, inviting them to finally end her existence. And they did. Cleph kept her head under the blue wall of water, until he felt like something was just…gone. He didn't knew if it was really something he felt, or just his imagination getting the better of him in this intense moment.

Whatever it had been, it had been right. His mother, the bringer of his horrors and the birthplace of his terror, was dead and with her all his restraints and all his respect for life itself. He had rid himself from his last chain, now it was time to finally do what he was born to be doing. His siblings had been the first, but certainly not the last. Prisons had crumbled, tribes had rotten and dragons had eaten each other thanks to him, and now he was going to prepare his last appetizer before his magnum opus.

His empty eyes ogled the dark outlines of the Withwara city in the evening light. His nerves almost exploded when he thought about what he would do when he was done with this. First, he would kill king Gawain and Galvano, next the other tribal kings. Next on the bucket list was Gundobad, king of the northern tribes, followed by Gelimer and all the other generals. And then, he would kill Tenebris. And then he would finally achieve his destiny. He would truly be a demon, a spawn of the god of the underworld, the master of death.

It had been his purpose from day one. He would drown Avalar in centuries of chaos and destruction, and he would enjoy every second of it. But first this tribe. He had to stay focused. And his murderous eyes had already spotted what he needed.

Many had told about the almost magical healing abilities that Withwara healers had. In the days of old, Galam and his descendants even implemented rules that every other person that wasn't a Withwara had to pay enormous salaries to use the healers. But this wasn't because of skill alone. It just so happened that this city was surrounded by enormous fields of many plants that were perfectly usable for the potions that had helped so many in the past. But every good healer knew that every good medicine could become a dangerous poison in the wrong hands without any effort. And it just happened to be that Celph's hands weren't the right ones. Tonight, he would give the town a taste of what was to come. But it wouldn't be too bad. The real suffering was for tomorrow. His eyes focused again on the city walls, now almost completely dark thanks to the still lowering sun, and in his empty eyes, one might would have seen those same walls burning in the fires of the underworld.

* * *

 **I am sorry that I am late again, but I got totally wasted saturday, and I was incapable of writing for three more days. School also fucked me over hard. One good thing though. Tomorrow, my school will organise a visit to Germany, and me and my friends go with it. We will probably just buy a lot of german beer (although I have to say that Belgian beer tastes way better) and drink it up until we are totally wasted. Hooray. Anyway, I am rather happy of how this chapter turned out. It wasn't too stupid and it actually builds up to something for once. Also, I thought I just give Cleph some character development. No reason for it, I just wanted to do it, and here you have it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I can promise you that the next three chapters will finally end this arc. Then we can finally introduce Spyro and co into the story, so just hang on lads.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder**

 **See ya**

 **PTPD**


	19. Chapter 19

_**Cynder 19**_

 _ **I believe in the religion of Love, whatever direction its caravans may take, for love is my religion and my faith.**_

 _ **Ibn Arabi (1165-1240)**_

 _ **Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws**_

 _ **Cnut the great (990-1035)**_

* * *

A heavy sound wrecked through the concrete walls of the Withwara-prison, shaking the building on its foundations. Through all the chaos and noise, a curse was heard

"Shite, shite, shite, shite, shite and shite. Fucking rocks!" Authari cursed.

"Stop whining and start digging." Agilulf sighed. The blue dragon couldn't help but roll his eyes when the typical misfortune that seem to hunt his brother struck again. They had been digging a hole in the ground for over two hours now, and they had barely made progress. It wasn't like this was their slowest escape though, but it was easily the most tiring. And Authari wasn't of much help to that factor.

He had been cursing, complaining and whining since the beginning of this whole ordeal. To a certain extent his brother understood his complaints. Authari was one of the weakest males to ever live in this realm and his fragility, combined with his desperate need to proof how manly he was only caused him more pain then gain in the end. This time was no different. While digging, the idiot had managed to collapse twice when he tried to dig longer than he could handle, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He would and should prove to the world that he could do this, so Agilulf let him.

The blue dragon chuckled a little when he thought about it. For years, he had protected his brother and cared for him, always knowing that Authari wasn't able to live in the culture they lived in. He couldn't transport goods, he couldn't smuggle well and he certainly lacked the strength to survive the many wars that their king fought with the Artisan empire. Heck, he barely survived the cold winters up north, and that was his home for crying out loud.

Many villagers had proclaimed their father insane that he had kept the child alive for so long, but others saw it as cruelty. At first, there had been nothing wrong with Authari, but later on, when puberty struck, their father finally realized that his son wasn't going to live the life every father wanted for their children. A good life. But that was ages ago. Agilulf had taken his brother with him, and together with their older brother Alboin, they expanded their business. And now they were here.

"That hole isn't going to dig itself ,you know. " Agilulf jokingly said. Authari had started panting and his tongue was dangling out of his mouth, spit dripping from it.

"F….Fuck you." Authari groaned, barely able to speak.

"Hey there, don't shoot the messenger. You wanted to dig that hole all by yourself, remember? Don't worry. I can handle it. That's what you told me, and you aren't a lair now, are you?" Agilulf teased.

"Wait until I get out of this hole, you idiot. I will rip you to shreds." Authari growled. Although the words and expressions were trying to convince Agilulf that his younger brother was serious, the high pitched voice and crumbling stamina told otherwise.

"I would love to see that happen, but I don't want to wait for ages. You would help yourself, and me too actually, if you just admit that this isn't working and let me take the job over from you."

"Never. You can suck my ass for all I care."

"I see." Agilulf sighed. His brother always knew how to take a conversation to another tasteless low point.

"Don't hurt yourself while I take a nap, understood?" he asked. Authari only gave some usual curse words and a dirty look as a reply, giving Agilulf the permission he wanted.

"Some things never change." He thought, his eyes closing. But the blue dragon couldn't sleep, and he wasn't really trying to. Sometimes, it was just awesome to lay down and just enjoy the moment. As far as that was possible, being locked up in a prison of a very dangerous tribe of course, but still.

"Hey, Agilly. I think I have found our way out."

Agilulf's ears opened themselves a little bit wider when hearing that.

"How so?"

"Apparently there is some sort of old cave system under this thing. Judging by the light that comes in, there are more than one ways of getting in and out."

"Are you sure it isn't inhabited, or maybe used by the Withwara themselves?" Agilulf asked. He knew this tribe. They would never leave something like this unused. That was if they knew about this thing to begin with of course.

"Whoever inhabited this is long dead, bro. The claw extensions down here haven't been used in centuries. They have almost totally rusted away."

"Claw extensions? Withwara claw extensions? Are you sure that they are really that?"

An agitated snort came out of the hole in the middle of the cell.

"Of course. I'm not mentally handicapped, I let you know."

"Are you sure about that."

"You shut your whore mouth."

"Language please."

"Go fuck yourself."

"With pleasure, but let's escape first before the guards find out that we have been digging a hole in the middle of their cell." Agilulf said, getting tired of the useless bickering. His brother was impossible sometimes, and even if they needed each other in times like these, he couldn't deny that he would derive a lot of pleasure if he could just strangle his sibling for just a second.

Back at the situation, both brothers had jumped into the hole, both landing in the middle of the enormous cave beneath them. To Agilulf's surprise, his brother hadn't lied. The whole cave was filled with hordes of rusty claw extensions, and by the looks of it, they had been there for centuries.

"What are these things doing here?" Authari asked. His brother just shrugged. A hint of recognition flew over his face, followed by a small smile when he realized how this could even be the case.

Back in the day, Tenkamin had given him a brief rundown of local history and legends to keep him entertained, when they weren't talking to each other about their angsty teen problems with their parents and the establishment.

Judging by what he could remember, this was possibly one of the hiding places made by the original inhabitants of these lands, millennia before the dragons even set foot in these woods. It was their last chance of trying to fend off the invading dragons.

The last breath of a dying culture. Later, the dragons under the command of king Galam had probably used this hiding place as a weaponry to supply his young and vulnerable village with the arms they needed. Whatever it may have been, it hadn't been used in decades and the claw extensions were way to rusted to be used at the moment.

"It doesn't matter what they are doing here. What matters is how are we going to get out of here." He said, trying to end the conversation right now. Authari shrugged, before he redirected his attention from the weapons to the surrounding rocks, trying to find an exit. To both of their chagrin, the holes that made light come true were way too small to allow for a good exit, so they set out to search for another exit.

"Hey Agilly. Do you know where Alboin is? "

"No, and I don't care either." Agilulf said roughly.

"Yeah….It is probably better this way….Yeah."

With a sudden move, Agilulf turned around, looking his brother right in his eyes. Authari, surprised by the move, didn't have a snarky reply ready and felt a sudden urge to back down. The piercing eyes of his brother held a power in them only few had ever seen or experience, but the young blue dragon knew when to keep his mouth shut.

"Listen Authari. When we get back home, you have to promise me that you will keep yourself as far away from Alboin as possible, understood?"

"I…"

"Understood?"

"Yeah…"

A moment of silence.

"Good."

* * *

"Sooooooooooooo, what you are saying is that me and my brother's got captured by a princess named Tenkamin of the Withwara tribe and my brothers are now probably in prison?"

Malefor only nodded at this, not even bothering to actually answer the question.

"Well, I didn't really see that coming." The blue dragon said, sounding weirdly cheerful for an otherwise rather grim newsflash. It surprised Malefor a little. This dragon didn't care in the slightest that he had been caught by a possibly dangerous tribe that would probably give him a one way ticket to the death penalty for threatening the life of their royals.

"Anyway, I think it's time to leave. I have wasted enough time here." He said, shrugging nonchalantly wile crawling of his pillow.

"Where do you think you are going?" Malefor asked.

"Outside." Alboin simply stated, rolling his eyes as to say 'obviously'. Malefor felt a little pang of irritation flaring up. She still couldn't handle people not taking her serious, and this dragon was not good to her feelings on that part.

"Where do you think you go? This is an enormously well defended city, probably with air-control and all and you think you can just walk out of here like it's a hotel or something?" She said, a slightly condescending tone coming through the voice.

"Yes." Alboin stated. Malefor felt the urge to face palm.

"And you will come with me."

Malefor tried to comprehend what this guy just said. Did she hear that right? Was this total idiot really assuming that she, a powerful and intelligent warrior, would take such a huge risk for something that could be easily done at a better time? This, combined with the fact that here wounds weren't completely healed yet, brought some heavy irritation up.

"And what makes you think I will do that?"

Alboin just shrugged, making his way over to the door standing between them and the rest of the house.

"I don't know. But something tells me that the great Malefor, the terror of the skies, wouldn't be sitting around all day like a pretty princess expecting shit to change and wait for an opportune moment. You are a machine, a weapon. You could probably just burn this whole village if you wanted too, and I think even if you deny you true potential, you can't resist the temptation of at least trying to show these savages that they messed with the wrong whatever. It's just a feeling, and feelings can be wrong sometimes." Without giving any following thought or look to Malefor, Alboin focused his attention completely on the door in front of him.

After looking at the structure for some seconds, he nodded. To Malefor's confusion, he blew some ice onto the floor, until he had a small, sharp tower of the cold substance. Without looking he broke the top of the heap of ice off while pinching the shard to test if it was sharp enough for the task at hand.

"What are you doing." Malefor asked, an offended undertone in her voice. She didn't liked being left out.

"Just wait for the magic to happen, sweetie." Alboin answered, a satisfied smile on his bandaged muzzle. Slowly but surely, the blue dragon put the sharp icepick into the keyhole, and after some tries and some cracks, the door fell open, almost inviting the dragons inside to escape. Malefor began to get very frustrated for some reason when she saw the smug look between the bandages.

"Well, I am off doing my usual shtick. Goda dags, qino." Alboin hummed. Before Malefor could reply or give some sarcastic comment back, the blue dragon was already walking out of the room in a calm and almost humored way. Malefor was conflicted. She didn't knew what to do. If she left, she risked never finding Cynder again. The city was enormous, and she didn't have the slightest clue were her sister may have gotten off too. As far as she knew, Cynder could be on the other side of Avalar. Next, she didn't trust Alboin one bit. This guy was just..off.

He was creepy and a little bit too admiring about the whole 'you have all power in the world so you are awesome' thing. She also didn't knew what would happen if she left this home. Would the healer come back and see that she was gone? Would he or she make the alarm go off?

Would she inform Tenkamin? Would Tenkamin kill Cynder for the escape of her sister? It were too many doomsday scenario's to count, and Malefor wasn't keen on overthinking things, although her brain had proven enough times to be an enormous fan of the practice. Whatever it may be, she couldn't help but getting herself stuck again in an endless loop of the same dark ideas over and over again, until….

"I have changed my mind. You come with me."

Malefor looked up from her place at the door. There was Alboin again with the same frustrating smug look on his damaged face.

"And what if I say that I don't want too?" Malefor countered.

"Then you're a dirty little liar and you know it. Now stop behaving like a child and act like the warrior you are."

Malefor felt a sudden urge to punch this unrespect full bastard in his already ugly maw, but she calmed herself down. He was her best chance of getting out right now, and so killing him wouldn't be in her best interest. This didn't make the choice much easier, but it was still a push in the same general direction. She would escape. Or at least try to. And for that, she sadly needed this idiot his help. He seemed way better experienced on this subject and Malefor knew that just bursting out of the city with flames and fire wasn't the solution. She would probably just attract the attention of even more dangerous foes and tribes and maybe even…

Tenebris. If her former master showed his face around these lands, she knew that the results would be bigger and more catastrophically then she ever could have thought. The more she thought about it, she became more and more convinced that going with this guy was still the best solution she had, although her senses were still telling her to kick the living shit out of him. Being her only solution wasn't an excuse for rude behavior after all.

"Soooooooooooo, you're coming?"

Malefor blinked her eyes for a second, trying to get her head out of the thoughts of some minutes ago. After successfully brining her mind back on track, she replied, although hesitantly…..

"Yes."

A smile came to Alboin's face.

"Oh dear Lord. How the mighty have fallen. The great terror of the skies escaping, led by a common smuggler. May the chronicler fool me."

Malefor waved her paw around, dismissing the melodramatic speech.

"Alright, enough. Show me the way out before I make up my mind."

"As you wish, princess." Alboin smiled. Malefor barely controlled the urge to scratch his idiotic smile from his arrogant features.

* * *

Tenebris sighed when he felt his usual headache's flare up again. They had been diminishing over the years, since he had started this whole revolution, but these last days they had returned back to their old height's.

Most of it had been the result of reasons he already knew, but some were just out of his control, and he hated those. Most of the time, it were rather small things that just got way out of hand like the whole Amanitore debacle, and the situation with Hilderic although the last one was actually solved rather efficient if he thought about it. Nothing to complain about on that part.

Most of his irritation came though from one simple sources. His own staff, and mostly the generals. Those incompetent fools had a tendency of getting themselves and their troops in all sorts of ridiculous situations, and they always needed him to solve the problem at hand. But even that wasn't the problem now. This time, it came from someone he least expected it from. One of his most competent and trustful generals.

Huneric.

A couple of minutes ago, the dark master had received a letter from his mountain. At first, he had expected some serious news, or some reports on how the organization of the mountain was going, but this hypothesis had been proven wrong. It was a letter that requested something he hadn't seen coming, something that seemed innocent at first.

"Dear leader. I, Huneric the elder, would like to ask you for permission to act upon the right and position that you so highly bestowed upon me. I would want to pass my knowledge, gained by serving for years under your rule, over to a younger generation and I think I found the best candidate, although you yourself had already seen the potential that he had in him all along. I am of course speaking of Genseric.

This young dragon displays all the traits that a true servant of your great cause needs and those are but are not limited to: bravery, leadership skills, battle-hardened by the harsh lands of his home and its wars, eager to proof himself and a fast learner. I know from the deepest of my hearth that you will make the best decision ,taking in account of everyone's best interests. And so, I end my letter by repeating my plea to you, great one.

Let me, Huneric, son of Fritigern, be the teacher of Genseric, son of Trpimir, and so expand the range and knowledge of our army as a whole."

Tenebris had never been one to take such a request lightly, leave alone not trying to find an alternate motive behind this letter. It surprised him to some extent. Huneric had been his longest serving general, and he had already been a soldier back at the first week of the dark master's campaign. His leadership had been of much use throughout the years, but even with all his skill and power, he had never even tried to be a teacher. He was a servant, nothing more and nothing less. So where did this come from? Was it some kind of redemption, trying to make up for all the wasted potential he had already gotten killed through the years? Was it an attempt to really strengthen the armies of his lord, or was there another reason?

A small idea of possible treason came up into Tenebris's head, but the thought didn't really stuck. It was to illogical, to out of character. Huneric was a general that was possibly one of the most straightforward people the dark master had ever met. Secrets, let alone whole assassination schemes weren't something the general could possibly hide for that long or even try in the first place.

Next, he wasn't the type of guy to backstab someone. Throughout the years of war, the dark master had seen that his best general had a favor for killing his enemies head on, making the fight as fair as a fight with a trained warrior could possibly get. He would never strike someone in his back or when said enemy was unguarded, although he didn't spare them though when they showed weakness or fatigue in the fight. Weakness wasn't something Huneric had ever tolerated from his own man, and his enemies were held up to the same standards.

It would just be impossible for him to try something like this, and Tenebris felt rather satisfied when he realized this. Having to kill one of his own, how amusing and imposing it might be at the moment was in the end still a contra productive move and certainly when he would attack the stronghold named Warfang within some days. Even Hilderic and Gnupa, although being dirty traitors, would have still proven useful in the battle had they still been among the living.

It wasn't like Tenebris really regretted his decision to kill them. It was more like realizing that it wasn't the best shot, but if he could have done it again, he wouldn't have hesitated to end their pitiful lives. They could have been helpful, but it wasn't like he couldn't live or fight without them. It was just a setback. A delay of execution of some sorts.

Tenebris realized that his thoughts had been drifting away from the topic at hand, and he quickly regained his line of thought. After some thinking, he made a sign with his paw, asking for his second in command to come out of the shadows. Thrasamund appeared.

"What is it, my master?" her emotionless voice asked.

"Huneric wants to secure the future of my new order. Apparently he wants to train Trpimir's son, and he wants it badly."

"And did you allow it?"

Tenebris looked at Thrasamund with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Why would you care? As far as I remember, I have never told you that you were allowed to ask for any justification from me. Is there something you want to ask me, Thrasamund?"

Thrasamund looked down for a moment, before opening her mouth again.

"My master. I…I..I know that I am truly unworthy and not deserving of asking this enormous service of yours but…"

"Be straight with me, Thrasamund. No beating around the bush. What is it?"

"Oh, euhmm…Ofcourse my lord. Excuse me. I just wanted to ask if you….."

"If I what?"

"….If you would like to take me as your apprentice."

A suffocating silence fell over the room. Not one single sound, safe for the breathing of the two dragons inside, could be heard. Thrasamund began to get nervous, feeling her own pulse rising with every passing second. She could almost hear her heart beating its panicked song, showing weakness through her otherwise cold exterior. Her pupils began to get smaller and smaller, her mind slowly losing control over her body, until…..

A smile.

A single smile on her master's features. And that was all she needed.

Before the dark master knew what happened, the purple general had thrown herself in front of his throne. Tears running down her eyes. Her whole body shook with tremors of unfiltered, raw and pent up emotions, an occasional gasp coming though her heavy breathing after some inhales of air. Her otherwise so intimidating wingspan was now reduced, the appendages laying useless at her side, her brain to shocked to be able to control the limbs.

Oh, how different she was from her brother. Gunthamund was a loose cannon, his only loyalty being to his sister. Tenebris had been surprised back in the day with the total devotion the young psycho showed towards his sister. Even back then, she had been the only one who could keep his waves of insanity in check, with much physical violence as a result. This immense loyalty wasn't a two sided coin though.

Thrasamund's only loyalty laid with the army, and although she did take care of her little sibling, Tenebris had never seen her display any more affection than the occasional nod when he did something good. If this was out of love for her brother, or as a way of making sure he wouldn't step out of line, the dark master didn't knew. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling from his heart that these two would prove very…amusing one day.

"I….You….I am so gratefull, my master." She said with a croaked voice, hoarse of emotion. Tenebris's smile widened when he saw what he had accomplished. Finally, he had drilled through his generals core. He had found her engine, her source of energy, and it satisfied him more than he could ever hope. In this past action, Thrasamund had made it clear that the only reason she lived, the only thing that kept him going, was him and his war. And that was just what he needed.

"Stand up, Thrasamund. A general of your prestige is unworthy of laying down on the floor like some commoner. Stand, and listen."

Still shaking with emotion, the dragoness barely managed to get on her trembling paws, but eventually she managed it. With a sour heart, she looked at her master, the light in her life, awaiting his deciding words. They were all that she needed. They were all she could ever want. Nothing else mattered.

Tenebris looked down on Thrasamund, taking in her state, and he was amused by how visibly shaken his general was.

"Thrasamund. As your master, I only want to hear one thing from you. What is my name?"

"Tenebris, the highest being in the universe, the master of all that lives, the bringer of equality and the slayer of tyrants."

Tenebris smiled.

"Exactly. Now, go and rest my child. The future will ask much of you. Be prepared."

* * *

Malefor cursed herself when she thought about her situation. How did she land into this situation again? Oh yeah, she remembered. She had decided to follow a dragon she didn't knew, and one that was clearly batshit insane as her guide to get out of a village were neither of them knew the way through. Brilliant, just top notch thinking right there. Still, she couldn't deny that Alboin was doing a pretty good job on the getting away part.

Together, both of them had been sneaking around the village for what seemed like an hour right now, passing endless squads of guards and search parties. Their first plan had been to just fly away, but it seemed like a swarm of guards had taken over the evening sky. If she didn't knew better, she would have said that it was an enormous swarm of bees surrounding the place, but their form was clear. It were trained warriors, and if Tenkamin had been anything to go by, these guys weren't here to be laughed at. This didn't explain why they were all so active though.

"What in the name of the ancestors is going on here?" she whispered.

"One of their guards has been found dead on their doorstep." Alboin whispered back while carefully crawling from one shadow of a house to another.

"And how do you know?" Malefor asked. Alboin grinned a little in response.

"If only your ears worked as good as your mouth you wouldn't have this problem."

Malefor, in yet another hit of anger, decided to count to three in her head, desperately trying to keep herself from strangling the insolent prick . It didn't help though that she knew that the blue dragon was probably enjoying every minute of this. Eventually, he did respond to her initial question though.

"The guards talk to eachother about their days, and some mention their mission and its reason. Apparently someone named Igraine had been found dead at the gate. Judging by their descriptions though, she wasn't that popular, so she won't be missed." Alboin ended his sentence with a small amused chuckle, making Malefor scowl under her breath at the clear disrespect this guy showed. He ignored her though, preferring to look around for a possible threat. Slowly, he scanned his surrounding, until Malefor could see a spark ignite in his eyes, like had seen something he couldn't believe.

Following the general direction of his eyes, she couldn't deny that what she was seeing was quiet extraordinary. In the middle of one of the small paths between the houses, the ground started to stir. More and more of the ground moved until it seemed to collapse underground, leaving a hole in the ground the size of your average run of the mill dragon. And surely, one blue head popped up out of the hole, looking around. Soon enough this new dragon noticed Alboin as well, and both couldn't control their surprise.

"Alboin?"

"Agilulf?"

Their reunion was ruined by another, female-like dragon pushing himself through the hole as well, cursing and complaining in that weird northern language of his along the way. Alboin's surprise only grew when he noticed this dragon.

"Authari? Onya uiman?" he shouted, breaking the guarding silence that hang around them, practically exposing them to every nearby search party. Malefor wanted to kick him in the head for such idiotic behavior, but her blood ran cold when she heard a voice behind her scream an order in that weird Withwara language. Turning around, she could only see groups upon groups of warriors flying right at them. She had to get out of here. And quick.

* * *

 **And so another chapter ends. Sorry for the wait, but I had a lot of shit going on in my life these last days, but I am back on track now. I ma working on a new story, although it wont be posted until all the chapters are done, and that will take months. I am also done with what I want to do with this Withwara-arc. It will be done within three or four chapters from now, and then we can get on to the big build up to the end of this story. But that will take many more chapters, so just enjoy this one.**

 **See ya**

 **Goe dagske nog verder**

 **PTPD**


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

 _ **Ignorance leads to fear, fear leads to hate, and hate leads to violence. This is the equation.**_

 _ **Averroes (1126-1196)**_

 _ **Speech is a powerful master and achieves the most divine feats with the smallest and least evident body. It can stop fear, relieve pain, create joy, and increase pity**_

 _ **Gorgias (480 BC-376 BC)**_

* * *

"So explain again, what is this religion thing you keep talking about again? I don't really understand it." Cynder asked. For over ten minutes, she and Gwenhwyfach had been running to the place where the festivities would happen. Her offer to fly to it had been put down. Apparently, some kind of holy forefather would bring misery upon her if she dared to do such a thing. If her brain understood it correctly, they needed to walk to the place as a sign of respect and humbleness too the gods. The concept was that by walking, they were low and on the ground, showing that they didn't dare to touch the sacred heavens on such a divine occasion like this one.

"Well, I will try to keep it simple this time. There are two thing in this life that matter, and those are the earth and the heavens. The earth is Hengist. Hengist is benevolent and evil, keeping all that lives restrained on his crooked and deformed body. By doing this he forces every group living on him to live in a constant state of war, because only those who find glory will ascend up into the heavens, to join our all father, Horsa.

Horsa is the heavens, and the freedom that comes with it. He releases us from the pain of living on Hengist war thorn back by promising heaven to everyone who earns to release themselves from Hengist his chains. Those chains can only be broken though by obtaining glory in battle, because glory is that what Hengist fears. He can only conquer through fear and by keeping the people at war, but when an individual becomes a glorious hero, they become bigger than the war and fear, so he lets them go. Those who are left behind will continue fighting, trying to claim their place at Horsa's side."

Cynder frowned. She still didn't get the whole thing, but she was a little bit intrigued. What if Gwenhwyfach was right? This whole concept, although alien to her, seemed very….logical in w way. Why else would people hunt each other, kill each other and maim each other if it wasn't for some greater goal? If they all did this without reason, it would mean that sentient life was evil from the core and that wasn't a truth Cynder wanted to believe.

Maybe, this was true. Maybe, they were all just tiny being son the back of a malevolent greater being and only by proving your worth you would enter a better existence. Cynder snorted a little. If all her fights should be considered as honors, she would have claimed her place next to Horsa years ago. She would probably have a seat reserved at this point. This was, of course, if her battles counted as an act of honor and she highly doubted this but who knew what the will of these gods was. Maybe they adored the slaughter she inflicted upon their creation, although this also meant that Tenebris, Gunthamund, Thrasamund and all the others would also enter this heaven, and Cynder would rather die than share an eternity with them.

"That's all good and all, but why are we going to this party then? Shouldn't you guys go fight or try to find glory? This festivity seems counterproductive. And where does the chronicler and the ancestors fit in all of this." She asked the healer. Her mind wasn't so sure about this still. Gwenhwyfach just chuckled in a response, making Cynder feel a little bit like a child whose mother had just heard her child say something stupid. She didn't really knew how to feel about it.

"You can't be fighting and gathering every moment of your day silly. That would be way to tiring, and horribly boring if you ask me. Horsa isn't going anywhere so don't rush things, because you might trip over your own feet one day. Every step can lead to disaster, so be careful when you walk the path of life is what my dad used to say about that."

"And what about the ancestors? And he chronicler? What about them?"

Again, Gwenhwyfach laughed, but Cynder could sense some unintended mockery in this one, like she had just said something extremely stupid.

"You come from Warfang, don't you?" the green dragoness asked. Cynder didn't really knew how to answer this. The healer talked about this like it was the only option available, but she didn't really understood why. Still, she answered with a simple yes, trying to figure out if this was the right move. Judging by Gwenhwyfach's I-knew-it face, she had been spot on.

"Cynder, let me tell you this. You aren't the first traveler from that decadent hole to pass through here, and you aren't the first to speak about the chronicler and the ancestors. Some stupid superstition by the inhabitants of Warfang, that's what I think of it."

Cynder was a little bit shocked at the bitter tone this dragoness had when mentioning Warfang. This began to get weirder and weirder. Still, she needed some clear reasons for believing these things.

"How do you know for sure that Horsa and Hengist exist?" she asked. Cynder wasn't sure why she asked herself this question. She coudltn really see why, this explanation wouldn't be true. It wasn't like anyone else had ever given her a comprehensive explanation about how the world works, and no one had even tried to think about why it was such a cruel place to be.

Horsa and Hengist made everything fit, like peace's of a puzzle she had carried with her since her first steps on this vile realm. It was also slightly comforting to think that even after all this misery, maybe she could have a nice time even if it was in the afterlife. It would be a perfect repayment, to her at least. This didn't took away her doubts though. Gwenhwyfach didn't respond outright.

"Do you feel the wind?" she asked. Cynder frowned at this weird question, but still nodded. Gwenhwyfach made a small smile appae on her face, as if Cynder's response made her own doubts rest.

"You feel the wind. You feel and see its influence in everything around us, but still you don't see it. It's an invisible force, guided by something that we couldn't even try to understand. This is how I see Horsa and Hengist. Invisible, but you feel their presence in everything that surrounds me. They make the flowers grow, lives end, the birds fly, the boats flow and us fight. They control and influence everything. They are everything. Can you still follow me? "

Cynder nodded, although those damned question marks still refused to fade from her mind. She still had one burning question though.

"That doesn't explain were you guys came from." She said. Gwenhwyfach nodded, and she seemed to prepare herself for telling a speech she had probably told and heard a million times already.

"In the beginning, there was only war and chaos. King Pharamond had brought nothing but misery upon the realm, and the different peoples were left behind shattered and broken. Desperate and broken, all the most important remaining leaders of the realm gathered.

Dompneth, king of the electric dragons, first king of the Artisan empire, Mundzuck the Cheeta, Brennus the ape king, Svatopluk king of the Krivitches, Gundomar the ice dragon and Genobaud the fire dragon of the at that time small city of Warfang, all came together at the mountain now known as Mount Tenebris, exactly one year after Pharamond's death. What happened went as follows…."

"Hold on there. I don't want to be rude, but I think we are almost there, and I do not think we have all day, do we?" Cynder asked. She did not want to be rude, but her head could barely rap its head around the whole Horsa-story, let alone handle another hour of history that she didn't understood. Luckily for her, Gwenhwyfach was way too excited for the upcoming event, and Cynder was awed when she saw the thing they were walking at.

There, in the middle of an open space between the enormous palace of the king and some smaller houses, stood a gigantic stone with a tree carved on it. The tree itself was painted with multiple colors and shades, making the whole thing look quiet surreal and trippy to the eyes. The space on the stone that wasn't used to display the amazing art piece was painted dark black, as if they wanted to make the tree stand out even more on the stone.

All in all, it made quiet the view, and Cynder would have tried to touch it if it wasn't for the thousands upon thousands of Withwara tribesmen surrounding the thing, all looking at it with a longing in their eyes that Cynder had never seen before. Nobody touched the stone though, it being surrounded by dragons that Cynder could only assume to be priests. All of them shared the same red eye color that most of the people in the tribe seemed to have, lightly unnerving Cynder. One preist in particular seemed to ogle at her, like he recognized her from somewhere, although she had no idea where that could have been.

The priest himself seemed to notice that his stare had been discovered, but he only intensified his look, as if he dared Cynder to react, trying to force her to step even the slightest bit out of line. She wouldn't move though. Years of resisting and getting accustomed to gazes of the likes of Tenebris, Huneric and Thrasamund had learned her that a look was nothing more than that. A look. Two dumb eyes pointing at your direction. Cynder had to keep herself from smiling to the priest, only to see what the guy would do under pressure, but she knew when to keep herself in check. He wouldn't get what he wanted from her. No one would anymore.

* * *

Malefor couldn't think we're she was going, nor could she look behind her. Every millisecond not spent on escaping this damned place was one closer to certain death and she wasn't quite ready for that, not yet. Without giving her surrounding s as much as a second look, she darted through the paths, streets and random open spaces between the totally unorganized infrastructure used by this tribe. Every corner seemed to bring another insane way of building and creating a maze of unfollowable roads leading to dead ends, houses standing in the middle of pathways and sometimes just whole parts of the village left empty for whatever reason. It probably made sense to the Withwara, but not anything Malefor could understand.

Until this point she had been quiet lucky, always landing in streets and paths that didn't became dead ends or narrow holes like some of the other seemed to do, but she didn't knew how long her luck would last and in a situation like this failure wasn't an option. The tribal soldiers were clearly nearby, their raging screams in that incomprehensible tongue of theirs echoing through the empty streets. They were, as far as she could see by judging their queen, extremely well trained warriors and mercy wasn't really a word in their vocabulary, so keeping herself out of their claws was the order of the day.

Turning around another corner, Malefor barely escaped the claws of one of the soldiers, his scream of anger almost bursting her eardrums. Before the guy could properly rearrange his attack, Malefor had already darted away, this time at double her original speed. For one millisecond she looked over her shoulder to see what was going on, and her stomach flipped around when she saw the grim situation she had worked herself into. The sky was littered with warriors, al dive-bombing in her direction and behind her were many others running after her.

Their red eyes, mixed with the horrid scarification on their bodies made them look like demons in the evening light, the moon coming up behind their heads. Malefor couldn't help but feel intimidated by these monsters. They weren't enemies that could be reasoned with. All they wanted was the glory of the kill, and they didn't care for the consequences.

Another corner made Malefor slow down again, and this time a painful sting in her shoulder of metal penetrating her scales. Refusing to slow down, she turned the corner, still running like a chased animal. From the corner of her eye she was shocked to see what caused it. One dragon, running behind her like she was Pharamond himself, wore golden claw extensions on his paws, the golden reflection being interrupted by a red stain dripping from its points. Blood. Her blood.

In all her years, Malefor hadn't felt nor seen her own blood for ages, and this remembrance of her own mortality drove her to run again like she had never done before.

"We'll get ya, Warfang bitch. There is no escaping from us." A warrior roared in barely comprehensible English. Malefor didn't thought about replying. She needed to save her breath for more important things, like keeping that guy's from prediction from happening. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

After turning around what seemed to be a millionth corner, she began to feel fatigue enter her system, turning her situation more and more difficult with every passing second. This wasn't looking good, and fighting seemed to be the only option left other if she didn't found a solution to her problem fast. The ancestors, as usual, found a rather weird solution to her problem.

Sprinting through a small path between two houses, she could here cheering in front of her, informing her that there were more people there than she could use. It was too late to rearrange her planned route, and she just hoped that she wouldn't be noticed in the panic that would probably ensue.

"Get out of the way!" a high pitched voice at her right screeched. From the corner of her eye, she could see three blue blurs shooting out of one of the many side streets, heading for a collision course. Malefor had only a second to curse her poor luck, before colliding with the three brothers. Carried forward by their combined propulsion, the four dragons all rolled and glided over the ground, right at the source of the noise. Together, they landed on their faces past one of the last houses Malefor had seen before the accident.

"I hate my life." Authari muffled under his breath. Malefor slowly opened her eyes, not wanting to see what her surrounding were looking like. It was far more pleasant to pretend like nothing of this was happening, that it was all some bad fever dream. When her eyes finally absorbed the world around them, she could see herself getting surrounded by warriors. It seemed like they had dropped in an enormous open space with….was that a painted rock?

"Malefor?"

Looking at where the sound came from, Malefor was greeted by an enormous crowd of shocked expressions and red eyes surrounding the painted rock-tree thing, but it was only one face that the former dark master recognized, and only one that made her almost pass out. There, standing in between the gigantous crowd of tribesmen, was her sister, her twin, …..

"Cynder?"

Nothing more could be said, when Malefor got knocked out by one of the warriors surrounding her.

"I told you we would get you. You city people are always so decadent, too lazy to actually defend themselves." One of the chasing soldiers chuckled. Malefor was already too far away to hear his taunting, nor could she hear the screams of her sister or the horrid tirade of the three brothers. It didn't matter. There was only one truth to this all.

She failed yet again.

* * *

 _One year after Pharamond's death. Several thousand years before Malefor's birth._

 _Svatopluk wasn't really feeling well. Since the early morning, he had a throbbing headache that wouldn't fade and it was getting extremely annoying. It didn't help of course that he was locked in a room with people that he would rather avoid at all costs. The location itself wasn't that nice either. This mountain had always been the center of powers beyond everyone's comprehension, but the weary air the flew around wasn't anything to be happy about._

 _These halls had only one year ago been used by no one else than Pharamond himself, the king who promised equality but only gave violence and misery. The halls had once been decorated with beautiful drawings made by people's and species of beings predating the dragons for millennia, but now they were reduced to ash and decay. The absence of the lord of the mountain had turned this place into a waist, a place where no one dared to go but here they were anyway._

 _"Unacceptable. I can assure every coward on this table my people did not fight with the enemy, on my word as a warrior. This are plain lies and I will battle anyone who dares to spread such blasphemy again." Brennus, king of apes bellowed through the dark room._

 _Svatopluk had watched the king closely for some time, and he was astonished by this person. The enormous ape wore golden armor, made by the finest smiths of old with a sword so large and enormous only a god would dare to lift it. His voice was strong and his demeanor demanded respect. It surprised the king of the Krivitches that this person could still display such wealth and honor._

 _This couldn't be said from the others in the room. The war had reduced most of the lords into criminals and beggars, desperately trying to cling on their last remnants of power, and it had brought the worst in them to the surface. They were all, piece by piece, horrendous examples of the lowest kind of criminal and briber. They had forgotten their honor ages ago, and many were only here to ensure their own place in the rise of this new age._

 _The worst of all was Gundomar, king of the ice dragons. He had the typical ego of his kind, mixed with the same interest in less than honorable schemes to get his hands on the hold he craved so much. Even before his downfall to scavenging lows, he had always been a greedy cunt that was probably the combination of the worst characteristics his kingdom had to give. He had practically used Pharamond's defeat to fill the power gap, and although he failed to convince anyone else than his own ice-kin, he was still a threat to the rebuilding program of the realm._

 _"I think it would be unwise to start another fight while trying to forge peace, lord Brennus." A low, old voice stated. Svatopluk looked at the source of the words, and was met with the almost dead looking electric king, Dompneth._

 _The noble dragon had once been a hero of great prestige. He had been one of the only dragons that did not follow Pharamond when he arrived in this realm, seeing a dangerous dragon through the façade of promised and charm. His contribution to the fight had been enormous, but he was nearing his end and the war had wasted every last bit of live he had left in him. A sad reminder that there were no prices for the heroes in the real world, only for dirty opportunist and ruthless thief's like Gundomar. Life wasn't fair, but it wasn't like many had a really high esteem of the value of life after the disastrous reign of Pharamond._

 _"I side with lord Dompneth on this. Let's not lose our dignity here. We need to rebuild the realm, not plunge it into another war." King Genobaud, leader of the fire dragons said. The fire dragon was the youngest in the room, but to Svatopluk, he was by far the wisest. The young guy had been born in the middle of this war, and he had never known something else than the grim rule of Pharamond. His years of suffering made him a hardened but passionate leader, and wise as well._

 _Were he lacked scholar he knowledge, he made up for it with his fantastic intuition and empathy. He would certainly lead his people to greatness if given the chance. Mundzuck the cheetah kept silent throughout the whole exchange, probably because he knew he had nothing to gain. The cheetah had been a fervent supporter of Pharamond, and even now he still viewed the deaths as the means to an end. The only reason he still lived was because the dragons did not wanted to cause a political riot between the cheetahs and the dragons by killing their king. It was corrupted, unfair and disgusting, but they had no other choice. It was for the greater good._

 _"Have a look at that. The young cunt dares to open his mouth. Never thought a fire dragon would have the courage to do such a thing." King Gundomar snorted from his seat. Svatopluk felt disgusted when he looked at the satisfied grin on ice king's face, but he could do nothing about this._

 _"Control yourself, Gundomar, and behave like someone from your status. Dompneht said, almost wheezing his command out. The ice king only grinned when he saw the weak opposition he faced._

 _"I am sorry, dear lord Dompneht, but I do not believe that a monkey, an old piece of fading glory, a Pharamond sympathizer, a guy right out of his diapers and a lowly earth king can save the realm. None of you knew how to defeat the great threat. None of you knew what to do."_

 _"And you did?" Genobaud asked, a smirk on his face._

 _"What if I did? What if I knew who or what could bring this giant on his knees? What if I, the high king Gundomar actually knew how it all went, what would you say?" the ice king retorted._

 _"You're a liar and a thief. I expect no truths from your kind, filthy rat." Brennus the ape spat._

 _"Do with your prejudices what you want lord Brennus, the fact remains that none of you have actually destroyed the dictator. He died some days ago in the dessert, alone and broken as you all know. And you are all here, trying to claim the glory and power that his death brought. It's like flies on a turd and it makes me question if I am really the biggest supposed criminal here after all." Gundomar replied, a hateful but sly tone in his voice. It was clear that he wanted to heat this conversation up to breaking point._

 _"If you are so certain about are motives, why don't you explain yours? You come here claiming to know more than we do, and then you insult us without batting an eye. You better have an explanation ready for this behavior. " Dompneth said._

 _"My intentions are completely clear, as far as I am concerned. My point is that I despise each and every one of you. You are all, one by one, opportunists that have no capability to look at the bigger picture. You all think this is the beginning of a new era, but I think the real downfall has only begun. Corruption and immorality has entered are sinful world, and it won't become better from now on."_

 _"You yourself aren't really helping though." Genobaud said with malice in his voice._

 _"I just know what's best in the current climate. You can't really point at me for being a criminal when you are so stuck in the past that you wouldn't even recognize the new state of morals when it was right in front of you. But enough of that, let's get onto more interesting topics." Gundomar mumbled, his grin fading a little, as if he realized for just a millisecond how far he had fallen down the rabbit hole. This wasn't the time for contemplating life decisions, and Gundomar wasn't someone who had a habit of regretting things. Regret was for the weak-minded ones._

 _"You are a parasite. Nothing more and nothing less. Now leave this room before I plant my sword in your head." Brennus bellowed. Gundomar nodded, ignoring the protest of Dompneht and Genobaud._

 _"Don't try. I know when I am unwelcome. Just know that you wasted your only chances securing a better future. Come on, Mundzuck." The ice king sighed, a melodramatic tone hanging in his voice. Without looking behind the stormed out of the room, the cheetah king following without asking a single question. Svatopluk followed._

 _After walking behind them for some minutes, they found the enormous gate that closed off the mountain. The gate itself had been blown out of its hinges, probably destroyed by some vandals in the last year. A dim light came in through the hole, the grey clouds outside blocking out any sunlight as if the Gods tried to set the tone for this day. When reaching the gate, Mundzuck turned around, his blood red eyes glaring at Svatopluk._

 _"You followed. Why?" his low growl asked. Svatopluk looked at the hostile cheetah, and he only now noticed how threatening the dark grey fur of the cheetah made him look. Form the corner of his eye Svatopluk noticed the hand of Mundzuck twitching, softly caressing the handle of his sword._

 _"Calm down, Mundzuck. Our friend here does not mean us any harm, does he?" Gundomar said. Svatopluk shook his head. Mundzuck wasn't totally convinced though, his eyes still drilling in Svatopluk's orbs, making the king feel like the cheetah was looking right in his soul._

 _"Now, what is it that you are here for? I have to say that I am impressed. You aren't some rusty old fashioned idiot like those we left behind in that room. You want something more don't you?"_

 _Svatopluk wanted to answer, but his voice got stuck in his throat, and it frustrated him heavily. Why couldn't he talk? Why was it so difficult? Maybe it were the threatening eyes of Mundzuck, or the off-putting smile on Gundomar's face, like he knew this was going to happen, but it didn't felt right._

 _"You want something greater, don't you?" Gundomar asked, the confidence in his voice scaring Svatopluk for reasons he did not understand. A moment of silence seemed to pass. All three of the kings could hear the wind blowing through the abended halls, the broken walls and dark rooms making it sound like the fading cry of a dying being, as if the mountain itself died with these heathens on her grounds._

 _"I have something for you." Gundomar whispered eventually. Before anyone could react, Gundomar took a book from one of the many bags on Mundzuck's hips._

 _"What's this?" the cheetah king growled under his breath. Gundomar just rolled his eyes in a reply._

 _"Just let it go, Mundzuck. It's time for the next generation to bestow judgment upon this. We are too old, we have been corrupted too much to decide what this thing still means in this day and age. Let him decide if he wants to take the choice form us."_

 _Svatopluk was confused beyond belief right now. What was happening? What were they talking about? What was this book? What was inside? It didn't take long before the book was put before Svatopluk, and it finally made him speak up._

 _"What is this?"_

 _Gundomar only smiled. Mundzuck answered._

 _"It is a book that has brought more pain, suffering and misery than any other. It is the book of Athelstan, and it is the very thing that divided this world, even more so than Pharamond ever did. It can make or break your very mind, if you are able to understand the heavy subjects of course." The cheetah king sneered. Svatopluk was slightly put off by the hate and mockery that laid in the blood red eyes of the cheetah king._

 _Before Pharamonds time, Cheetah had always been very friendly with dragons, even interspecies marriage being a common thing. Svatopluk couldn't quiet shake the feeling off that Mundzuck would transfer this hate to his people, bringing the end to yet another custom, a remembrance of the past like his master did before him. Would dragons and cheetahs become enemies in the future? Svatopluk could only wish for an answer._

 _"But now it is time to go for us. The end of this chapter is near, and the new heroes will soon replace the old. But before that, only one thing remains to be done."_

 _Mundzuck nodded to Gundomar, and they both turned around walking outside. Leaving Svatopluk alone with the book._

 _Hours later when Mundzuck, Gundomar and Svatopluk had already left the place, the roof of the royal halls collapsed. Dompneht, Brennus and Genobaud were all buried alive, the mountain claiming the lives of those we had dared to oppose her master._

 _Gundomar led his people north, were they found the lands they sought and they called it their home, the ice plains for ever being theirs. Gundomar himself didn't enter the lands though. Instead he died of a stroke, his heart not being able to resist the cold temperatures after years of living in the warm south. His body was left ten miles away from the entrance into the cold ice world his people wanted._

 _His young son Giselher claimed the throne and would eventually turn the north into the smuggler paradise that it still was thousands of years later. Mundzuck never reached his people. Instead, he travelled north, disappearing in the woods surrounding the soon to be Artisan empire, a journey of eleven months away from his people and the lands where he grew up._

 _Svatopluk returned to his people, reading the book while travelling up north to the swamps to search for a new home, not noticing that half of his tribe had already taking another route under the leadership of some young dragon named Galam Cennalath. It didn't matter to him, because he had the book, and after years of reading, the feeling entered his mind that maybe the book had him too._

 _Eventually, after years of driving Svatopluk deeper and deeper into the dark realm of his own mind, the book was captured by king Gartnait, son of Galam Cennalath. From the moment Gartnait took the book outside of the walls of the Krivitches their fortress, Svatopluk seemed to feel like he lost something vital, but gained something else instead. The thoughts the book had planted in his head didn't fade though, and even thirty years later, death on his door, he still longed for the book and what was written in it._

* * *

 **Okay, so first things first. The last part was not necesary and I you dont care about it, just forget it. It was just an explenation for something that will become relevant within some chapters, but in the end its more something akin ot exposititon than really something of plot importance. I promise this will be the last time that I will pull something like that out of my ass,but I felt like it would clear some things up in the future.**

 **Well, now an explenation for the other...problems. Firstly, the reason i am so late is because I have just finished my exams ( which can take up to three weeks in Belgium) so I had little time. Next came the fact that ofcourse, we partied all the days afterwords, leaving me with more hangovers then I am glad to admit. I realise that this chapter is a giant waste of time and that nothing really happens, but I wanted to give you guys something. I hope no one missed this, although I highly doubt anyone did.**

 **A last comment is that all comments made on the nature of religion are purely in function of the story. I feel like I need to say this, because I have been flamed multiple times on other sites by crazy Christians, as well as insane athiests, and I am not waiting for another sensles discussion. Thank you very much.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder**

 **Have a good day**

 **PTPD**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21**_

 _ **Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown, ignorance can be educated, and drunkenness sobered, but stupid lasts forever."**_  
 _ **―**_ Aristophanes (446 BC-386)

 _ **In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."**_  
 _ **―**_ Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

* * *

Malefor looked in front of her, eyes glaring at the rails separating her from the free world beyond the walls of this Withwara prison. The incredible urge to curse her luck was barely contained within the dragoness. This didn't meant that she wasn't visibly shacking in frustration or anger, but sometimes it was just better to let a small portion of the rage go.

The floodgates weren't opened yet, only partly and as long as it worked, Malefor wouldn't complain. To her utter chagrin, she had been placed in a cell with no one else than Authari, the feminine brother of Agilulf. The guards hadn't been to kind on them when they were captured. She had only awoken when they were already picked up, being dragged to the prison of the tribe.

The guards hadn't bothered to actually restrain anyone, instead opting for the easier route of just hoping for luck to be at their side and drag the unconscious bodies to their cell. Their frustration was, as expected, enormous when they were faced with the situation of one of them awakening. Malefor had fought them of for nothing more than a second. She was totally disorientated and her mind was still clouded with the clouds of confusion, or so it seemed. The guards hadn't bothered knocking her out again. No, that would have been too much of movement for the totally uninterested warriors. They had caught their prey, they were satisfied. Actually locking them up was just an afterthought not suited for the mighty soldiers that occupied these lands. Back in her old life, Malefor would have laughed at their superiority complex.

It amused her how one could place themselves so high in their own mind, that they simply refuse simple things that would normally benefit them only because they couldn't accept the idea that even they were nothing more than any other. It was so easy to use these attributes in her past, and she was afraid that Tenebris used the same tactics. You just had to put two tribes against each other, and their pride and refusal to coexist or back down would finish the job. Divide and conquer, it was as easy as that. The problem with this was though that sometimes, the tribes thought so highly of themselves that they were prepared to go against forces way too big for them to handle. This wasn't really a problem, but every dead potential ally could be missed, and so it wasn't the most desirable outcome. The Withwara were clearly of the last category.

Although she tried to struggle multiple times afterword's, she was too shaken to actually put forward a respectable defense. The most she could squeeze out was a half-hearted attempt at lunging herself at one of the guards walking behind her. His face had annoyed her to no end. It had been the same guy that had taunted her while she was running through the streets, and now he was following her like he had caught her, a fish in a pond. Like she was his hunting prize, and he wanted to make sure that everyone knew.

Her pathetic excuse for an attack was easily dodged by him, and the only reaction she got was a laugh and some insults in the Withwara language thrown at her. The guy hadn't wasted any time, kicking her in her face. She hadn't tried anything after that, to distraught to actually do anything. After what seemed like an eternity, they had arrived at the prison cells, and she had been thrown in with enough force to make her collide with the stone wall that would make up her cell. To her relief, none of the guards felt like it was honorable to kick someone who was already on the ground, and so they left her be. With Authari of course, and he wasn't the best company to be around. He had seemed pretty unlikable and aggressive when she first encountered him, but now they were locked up in the same room, he became unavoidable.

"Move it. I have barely enough space to move." The blue dragon growled at her. Try as he might, his voice was still that high pitched girl-like voice, making his threat sound more cute than dangerous. To Malefor's surprise and sadistic enjoyment, it became obvious that even her voice was heavier than Authari's, making the blue dragon even more on edge than normally. He desperately tried to hide it, but Malefor could clearly see how self-conscious this guy was, making his whole act even more laughable.

Spyro would be considered a hideous monster compared to how threatening Authari was, and she knew this all too well. Luckily for Malefor, this left enough space for her to get under his skin. It wasn't like she had anything better to do, and she felt like it was the only thing that could help her raise her spirit a little, after the disastrous escape attempt. Call it escapism, but Malefor wouldn't care. Everything was useful to not think about that horrid moment of utter defeat she had felt. A small voice in her head told her that one day, she would have to get over her clear running-away issues, but she figured it could wait. There were more pressing matters at hand. Like how she could reply to Authari.

"With a figure like that I could be obese and you would still have enough space to run around." She said, her eyes rolling in an exaggerated manner. As planned, Authari didn't see through the obvious bait to argue about, and he went in the defense.

"What are you trying to imply, princess fuckface?"

"I think you know very well what I am implying." Malefor snickered. Authari was, just as predicted not too happy about this.

"You know what you need? A hard smack on the head or a good claw at your throat. That will learn you some manners. " he huffed.

"The only thing _you_ need are some beautiful necklaces, some jewels, a good portion of body paint and a small dose of makeup. You could be one of the prettiest little things I have ever seen."

A dirty laugh emitted from the cell next to them, making Authari momentarily lose his interest in arguing with the female in front of him.

"Shut Agilulf. " he screeched. The only response was another hearty laugh.

"I said shut up."

"I think he doesn't hear you." Malefor said.

"Maybe scream a little louder. That way the whole tribe knows what's going here." She added. Authari's only reaction was a venomous glare at her direction, before returning his vision to the wall between him and his brother.

"I swear, I will kill you once we get out of, here." Authari screamed, loud enough to make Malefor regret that she hadn't put her paws over her ears. This guy was by far one of the most annoying things she had ever come across, and her previous enjoyment of taunting him began to make way for agitation. There was only so much high-pitched screeching she could take, and at this point Malefor knew for sure that even the screams of a dying pig would be more pleasurable to listen to then whatever came out of this idiot's mouth. The universe really enjoyed messing up her life didn't it? Damn the ancestors for that. Why did they always felt the need to place her with the worst pieces of life the dragon world had to offer? Or maybe it was all just a big prank by Ignitus. His jokes had never been that good anyway.

"Killing me? And how would you do that? Digging a hole in the ground is already too much to ask. I am very certain that a fight with me would be a very one-sided happening." The voice of Agilulf snickered.

"I swear to the gods, when I get to you I….."

"Hey Authari."

"What"

"Shut it."

Malefor expected another rant of tasteless threats and insults, but she became gleefully aware that Authari wasn't that good of an improviser and instead of insulting her, he laid down on the ground, trying to sleep the shame away.

"He is sleeping, isn't he?" Agilulf's voice came. Malefor wanted to answer, but she wasn't sure if she could trust this guy. It wasn't like her answer would really give anything away, but you could never be too cautious when dealing with this type of crowd. Trust and kindness were sore losers, and they would always come back to bite you in the ass someday, so being careful was the order of the day.

"Yah, he is. Say, your brother isn't the brightest of the bunch is he?" she remarked. Her question was , although a bit rude, a sad attempt at trying to prude the backstory behind these guys from Agilulf. To her utter amazement, he actually replied without seeing through it.

"He never was the sharpest tool in the shed. I guess dad punched his brains out one time too much."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"It was a joke."

"oh…"

Noticing that the conversation was going nowhere, Malefor changed to subject to something more...casual. Or as casual as a conversation with a savage smuggler in the prison of an ultra-nationalistic tribe could be.

"So tell me, what brings a fine mad lad like you so far from home?" she asked. Agilulf snorted, a small smile appearing on his face.

"You truly are awkward at normal conversations, but I will give you your sweet little reply. We have come here to smuggle some stuff to the southern lands. Probably some blood money for some rich bastard in Warfang. Who knows, and who cares. Whatever the case, we succeeded and were going back home when an interference came up."

"What interference?"

"You."

"Oh…"

Agilulf snorted again.

"And you're stuck again. Never been much of a talker, or are you just horrible around a fine piece of meat like me."

Malefor became an insane amount more grateful for the wall separating them, if only so he wouldn't see the raging blush on her cheeks.

"Damn female hormones. " Malefor cursed inwardly. How could it be that she, one of the most experienced and mentally powerful dragons of her day totally lost control when one self-absorbed jerk from the north made a comment. It wasn't even complimenting her of all things.

"Okay Mally. Breath in,breath out, breath in…."

"Hey, everything okay over there? I think you're hyperventilating."

"Shut up." She growled in a reply.

"Oh oh, the beast has a temper."

"I said shut up."

"…"

"Thank you."

"Nah, I ain't feeling it."

Malefor sighed. She was slowly wondering if the ancestors were just as annoyed with this as she was, but she refrained from believing it. They were probably having a laugh over this. Simpletons.

* * *

"Again."

Genserik wheezed, the air having been blown out of his lungs by one of Huneric's ruthless attacks. Although they were nothing more than training attacks, the general didn't hold back one bit, making Genseric almost believe that this guy was going for the kill. It wasn't uncommon for teachers back at his tribe to kill their students at training if seen as to weak or pathetic to become real warriors that could make their people proud.

Although it was quiet rare, warriors being not a not one of those things you could afford to lose as a tribe, some things just happened and a dead student wasn't the end of the world. Back at his village, he had personally never seen it happen in person, and he was happy for it. His brother had come dangerously close though, but his father had always kept careful watch over his teachers so they wouldn't kill him. A luxury he couldn't, or wouldn't waste on Genseric. His second son had always experienced the full blow of reality and it had been something Genseric had despised at the time. Still, he would do a lot if his father only appreciated it for once. But that was back at home. Here, the rules were way more complicated. Fighting was still fighting though, and at the moment he was sucking at it.

With a painful gasp, Genseric tried to stand up after yet another heavy beating at the hands of his self-proclaimed teacher. He was barely able to stand on his feet, and he became more and more convinced that one of his wings was broken. Huneric didn't care though.

"Your speed is lacking. Your balance is off. Your technique is that from a savage raised in the bushes. I would almost believe you weren't trying, but I don't think you're that simple minded."

Genseric could only shake his head, unable to speak from sheer exhaustion. Everything hurt. His head, his ribs, his wings, all of it. But most of all, his pride. There was no honor in losing like this, no gain or lesson being learned. It was just total and ruthless violence. How could this have happened? Genseric could think about more than one reason actually.

As a tribesmen he had been raised to be a warrior according to the traditions and the rules his tribe bestowed upon said class of citizens. The Kriviches were famous in the swamp area for being the last big tribe that still used pure hand to hand combat compared to the claw-extensions of the Withwara or the enormous arsenals employed by the Artisan Empire.

Their fighting style was focused heavily on disarming your opponent. Most of the training revolved around this element of battle, most Kriviches assuming that soldiers from other cultures weren't trained to fight without weapons. Killing them after their weapon had been taken away was seen as a piece of cake and so not much effort was put on this aspect.

Genseric needed to pay for that poor judgement. Huneric may have looked like an older general, he fought with the aggression and agility of a young assassin. Genseric had no response to something like this. The older general used everything he could use, honor and rules be damned. Every punch, every hit, every scratch was meant to kill. Mercy or restrictions did not exist in his fighting style, but what frightened Genseric the most was that it actually worked. Like he had been trained for this his whole life, he managed to turn everything he grabbed into a weapon and he wielded it like he had been doing it for years. The biggest surprise had yet to come though.

Genseric's last resort was to attempt hand to hand combat. It was the only thing he knew his opponent wouldn't have been trained on, or so he assumed.

He assumed wrongly. Huneric proved himself to be a master in hand to hand combat, and Genseric could only stay and catch the punches. With a broken pride he realized that if this beating continued, he wouldn't last for another minute. His body was aching for rest and care, but he couldn't lose now. Normally, he would have argued that there was no honor in losing a fight, but now he had only one reason to fight. It was survival. Huneric wouldn't spare him and he knew it.

And he didn't. Five punches later, he was laying on the ground, totally unable to move a single muscle. He had failed. He could already imagine his father's looks of disapproval. Huneric's emotionless stare wasn't that much better though.

"Why do you fail?" the older general bellowed.

"I don't know." Genseric whispered.

"Then you have learned nothing. Stand and fight."

The beating arrived before he even had a chance to get on his paws.

* * *

Malefor felt like beating her head against the wall. She had been thinking about her situation for the biggest part of the day right now, and the only solid conclusion that she managed to create was that she knew nothing. She had no idea how late it was, how they could manage to escape, were Cynder was and how to combine all these things to get herself out of this situation without putting the attention of other interested parties on her.

The last thing she needed at the moment was a visit by soldiers form Tenebris his legions. It was already enough that she had to share her immediate surroundings with two barbaric criminals who had ruined her day twice already, and if her calculations were correct, she had been unconscious for the whole night, making their ruin-Mally's-day count rise to three days. Or was it two? Malefor didn't know for sure, sighing in frustration when she was remembered of the fact that she had spent most of her days since the killing of Cyril unconscious.

It was rather ironic that she had been more alert and active while under mind control than she was when freed. It faced her with how vulnerable she actually was, and how long ago it had been that she had been a mere mortal. Not some dark master above them, nor a slave beneath but just nothing more than a mere mortal. It reminded her of her times before being the dark master. Before she tried to finish her destiny, the feat she had made her single life goal. She had been an innocent soul back then, as far as she could remember.

She had friends, although not that many. Most of their names were long forgotten and the few she could remember were vague and unclear about what their precise role had been in her life. Sometimes she felt a memory flowing back in her head, mostly in the form of dreams, but these dreams came without context and dates so they were mostly just uninteresting side notes in her long life. Still, she couldn't deny that even as trivial as they were, the dreams were filled with longing. The return to a time when she hadn't known that the earth was a rotten and merciless place. Before she had received her personal enlightenment, as she had been promised when she had been introduced to her destiny.

She had seen the light, but before light could come, darkness needed to exist and so she would plunge the world into the dark abyss so they could let the light of a new era shine upon them. But no, Spyro had ruined it all. The insolent brat. There were only few who could match him on her kill-on-sight bucket list, and he was still number one without a doubt.

She could easily forgive others for their roles in this, because they couldn't know better. They were just normal dragons, but Spyro had been kin. He had been a purple dragon as well, and so his victory was nothing short of a betrayal to everything the purple dragon stood for. It had been a knife in the back and an emotional jab that Malefor hadn't expected at al.

If this was because of the betrayal or just because of her defeat in general she hadn't figured out yet, and she didn't really felt like actually discovering what it was. Some emotions where just too confusing to get into, and she had already enough on her plate at the moment. Personal problems and an impending identity crisis could wait.

She had pushed those away so many times that it didn't matter if it happened one time more or less. Or so she hoped. She couldn't know how long she could stretch her mental strings further, but it was a risk she had to take. Her life depended on it. Cynder's life depended on it. She had to succeed, if only to give Cynder the peace she deserved. That was all. Malefor herself had already done too much to deserve such mercy herself, but her sister wasn't wasted yet. She still had a chance, a choice. Malefor had wasted that one when she accepted her destiny. A destiny that kept nagging on her mind with every passing minute.

Luckily for her, the ancestors decided that it was time that Authari, after minutes off stubborn silence, decided to open his mouth again to unleash the idiocy that had been building up inside of him since his earlier encounter.

"So? What now? Are we just going to wait for the gods to come and save us? What the hell are we waiting for? " he exclaimed in a tone that made it very clear that he had been contemplating his situation for some time. There was some clear pent up frustration in is voice, although barely noticeable under the usual exaggerated screaming that he used to communicate.

"Time brings wisdom." Agilulf simply stated, totally ignoring the underlying truth that his brother had uttered. Malefor had a feeling that the blue dragon knew damn well that his younger brother was right, but as brothers do so often he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that. It surprised Malefor a little that even in a situation like this, the brothers still found it necessary to have petty arguments about the most mundane of things. Most of the arguments seemed one sided though. It was mostly Authari going bonkers against a calm and mischievous Agilulf. What Alboin did, she didn't knew, and it was only now she realized that the third brother was nowhere to be seen.

And so was Cynder.

Where Cynder was, Malefor didn't knew, but she hadn't been totally blind . She had noticed a certain dragoness standing rather close to Cynder, when she stood there at the ceremony and Malefor had a gut feeling that this dragoness knew more about where Malefors other half was. It was nothing more than poor speculation, but it was the best guess she had, and it wasn't too bold to assume that she would encounter the dragoness soon enough.

This tribe, although being big, wasn't bigger than let's say a small city and so it wasn't that big for a dragoness raised in the enormous city of Warfang. She knew how to find people. If necessary, violence would be involved. It wasn't like she hadn't seen enough of fighting yet, but she would go to the end of the world for Cynder. She was all she had left. It was all she ever had to be blunt about it. Maybe in her first life she would have had things that were more dear to her, but those things were long gone, in this reality as well as in her old life. None of her old friends had lived to see the day of her defeat at Spyro's hands. Even Ignitus, who had lived the longest of all hadn't seen the defeat of the person that had caused his death.

A small hint of guilt scratched at Malefor's stomach, making her feel a little bit uncomfortable. She didn't want to think about those thoughts and deeds. It confused her. Keep avoiding it was the message.

"You're a fucking wankstain, you know that? I bet our dad made you with whatever leftovers he had after shooting sky-high to produce Alboin." Authari screeched. With a shock, Malefor returned to the land of the living, realizing she must have spaced out very heavy to be this clueless to the situation. At least nothing of value had been said, judging by the useless bickering that had started again. Just another useless fight between siblings with anger management issues. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

"A pain in the ass. That's all I can come up with to describe you, dear brother." Agilulf moaned in a tired sigh. Deciding that this was going nowhere, Malefor decided to step in.

"Can someone please tell me the time or at least what day it is. I am a little bit shaken by our last….escape attempt and my senses are clueless."

Authari send her another annoyed glare, although way less intense than some hours ago. It seemed like he was getting tired of the bickering as well, but he wouldn't let his brother have the final say.

"Idiots." Malefor thought.

"It's nearing the evening again. You woke up somewhere after midday. You slept through the whole night of your escape attempt. Clear?" Agilulf responded. Malefor simply grunted in acknowledgment, thinking about what this info meant to her.

So she had wasted almost the entire day napping away after that fiasco the previous day. In the end this didn't really matter, but nothing could stop Malefor frustration with her situation, even if she could have done nothing to stop it.

Purely logically speaking, she had done the best she could, but nothing is more illogical then emotions like frustration and anger, leaving little room for her otherwise calculated mind to calm her. The years of torment had probably already destroyed much of that focused demeanor to begin with, so the floodgates were open for every curse, insult of profane sentence that the former dark master could come up with. This all to great amusement of Agilulf, and even to Authari to some extent although he really tried to not show it. The last thing he could use was this purple dragoness remarking on the fact that he could indeed, when the situation called for it, smile. The ancestors may wipe him from this realm when that happened. Luckily for him, Malefor had little to smile about, let alone being in the mood to pay the blue dragon any mind.

After uselessly walking around in her cell, Malefor groaned a little, slightly startling Authari, before she looked up to the roof.

"Can this day get any worse?" she whispered.

"Famous last words." Agilulf snickered. His brother was quick to add to that.

"Ow, shut it."

* * *

The time had come. Cleph wouldn't wait a second longer. Tonight, this evening the tribe would burn.

 **Alright,so firstly I want to say that I am very sorry for not updating earlier.I have my reasons though. I messed up my exams for Maths and French, and because my school is a rather high-profile one , I was forced to do my year over again. This means that I lose one full year of my life to a small misstep. This isn't that uncommon though in Belgium, but it is still shit. Next comes the fact that I have traveled a lot in August and June. I left for the small city of Lier (Belgium) for ten days, followed by eight days of Italy. Afterwards, I returned by plane back to Belgium, were I took a taxi in Turnhout to a buss stop that would leave for Prague (Czech Republic). Next, I spent the whole of September trying to settle in my new school environment and to work hard on my French and my German. The issues I have with my parents now is of course also rather unfortunate. I also stopped my studies of Norwegian and Swedish, although I try to keep my Norsk alive by reading stuff in that language. My other project has also been deleted thanks to my computer dying. Hooray. Right now, I am trying to find my place, so the next chapter may take some time. I am sure it will settle down though.**

 **Ik wens jullie allen een fantastisch schooljaar toe. Ik apprecieer het ten zeerste dat jullie blijven lezen wat ik hier neertype.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder.**

 **Ik meen het deze keer.**

 **Cuwaert Den Duvel**

 **(My new name comes from an old-dutch story called Reinaert De Vos (Reynaert The Fox). Cuwaert is a character in the story. Den Duvel is the Flemish dialect way of writing Den Duivel, which means 'The devil' in Dutch. Duvel is also an awesome Belgian beer.)**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22**_

 _ **You shall suffer terribly, Loki,"**_

 _ **thus spoke the angry one;**_

 _ **until you return with**_

 _ **The Wonderful Maiden who increases the joy of my chains**_

 _ **Þjóðólfr of Hvinir**_ _ **(c.855–930)**_

* * *

Slowly, just as it had done so many centuries before, the sun began to slowly disappear behind the mountains in the west. Tenkamin had always loved the sight. From the moment she had been able to walk, she would always climb up to the highest place in the palace, where she would put her head out of the window and just behold the peaceful view. It gave her a view on the world outside that she otherwise never had. As an assassin, you travel by night.

Darkness is your best friend, and taking time to actually look at your surroundings is mostly a waist of priceless minutes. But here, she could see the world just like she wanted to. Peaceful, wonderful and untouched by the violence and terror of her kind. There, far away, at her left in the northern sphere, she could see small white triangles. It where the first icy mountains, starting the lands of the ice tribes.

In front of her, she could see endless woods, ending all by one chain of mountains, marking the kingdom of the Artisan empire. She had heard from the bards in her village that the mountains were even bigger than the one Pharamond had once inhabited, but from here, it was nothing more than a small spot on the horizon, miles away from her current home.

A home she began to feel more and more resentment for with every passing minute. Every breath she took within the walls of the city were calculated, every move observed and every time she spoke, she could feel the choke hold getting stronger on her throat. The place suffocated her, but there was no escaping. Not for her. Her people depended on her. They wanted her, and needed her.

Her grandfather, Gawain, wouldn't live that long anymore and she knew that her father wouldn't take another wife so the duty to provide a suitable heir fell on her. To her enormous gratitude, her father hadn't implemented the traditional rule that she would continue the royal line by marrying her brother. It had been a practice only rarely used, but it still happened from time to time, and she dreaded it.

Her father had seen the results of such a relationship though, and he couldn't take the risk of having a disabled heir. The next obvious choice had been the son of Trpimir, Canute. The king of the Kriviches had two sons, but one had been a strong warrior named Genseric. If someone like him would enter the walls of the Withwara, he would pose a threat to Galvano's plans so he ordered Trpimir to send his son away to fight for the dark master. This would keep him busy, far away and in the best case scenario dead in the process. This only left the oldest son.

To Galvano's joy but Tenkamin's horror, the eldest son had been nothing like a heir should have been. He was small, extremely slim, underdeveloped, weak and his whole demeanour and look made him look extremely feminine. Tenkamin had first assumed this was the sister of the prince, but no. To ad insult to injury, he was painfully shy and didn't dare to challenge the orders he received.

As a last insult, his father had painted the small guy pink and adorned his body with jewellery that meant nothing to a Kriviches, but to a Withwara it was a clear sign of the person wearing it being a female. He was the very opposite of Tenkamin in every way, and she hated it. He had left the Withwara some months ago to return to his own tribe, but he would soon return to finish the marriage.

The only uplifting thing she could see in all of this was that the prince hated this situation just as much as she did, but he made an enormous effort to not show it. When he had promised to be there for her, she knew that it was nothing more than him promising to be a slave to the end of his days. It disgusted her, but also made her mind wander to the person her prison now held.

Agilulf.

The wild northern savage, stealing what he wanted, going where he wanted and living life to it fullest. Tenkamin couldn't help but admire him. He was so like her, but at the same time so different. She remembered the times they had spend together all those years ago. They were young back then, but it was funny how many things had changed. She had become stronger and bigger. He had become more mature, although only a little. He now had two brothers to take care off. Oh, how their lives had turned out….

A small whine broke her thinking. Looking behind her, she sighed. Rhyddrech could barely walk anymore, but for some reason he still felt the need to crawl up to this place, just to see the sun. Back in their childhood days, they had done this together, but with every hit her little brother received, the gap between them grew. Sometimes, Tenkamin felt guilty for not helping her brother, but she knew that this was for the better. Her brother needed to learn to trust no one and to become hard, just like she was. He would be better off without her intervention. It was right.

So why did it all felt so wrong?

"Oh, hello Tenkamin." He wheezed, trying to smile at her. She knew that smile. It was a façade, and a poor one at that. How he kept it up was a mystery to her.

"Hello, Rhyddrech." She answered coldly. Her tone showed no emotion. Pity would not help her brother. It would only make this worse. Crawling forward, her brother positioned himself next to her, and with a pained gasp, he dropped his head next to hers, both siblings looking at the sun. It had now sunken halfway past the earth, and it wouldn't take more than half an hour before it would be gone and the night would begin.

As statue, brother and sister watched the wonder of nature. Tenkamin her moment was ruined however by a small dripping sound. Looking at the source, she saw a big slash running over her brothers wing, blood running over his scales. To her horror, she recognised the wound. It would unable her brother to fly.

Forever.

Rhyddrech, noticing his sisters looks, quickly tried to cover it, but to no avail.

"Its nothing. It will heal." He tried to say in a light tone, although the despair under it was clearly audible. For a moment, Tenkamin looked in Rhyddrech's eyes. She had always avoided his eyes, cause like their dad had said so many times, he wore his emotions on his sleeve. Tenkamin felt sick when she saw the defeated look in his eyes. Before she could help herself, her wing covered itself over her little brother, almost like it wanted to shield him from the dark world surrounding them. With a gasp, Tenkamin pulled back. She couldn't ruin it now. Turning her view back at the sun, she saw that it almost disappeared behind the mountains. Slowing her breath, she tried to regain control over her body, until…..

"Thank you for trying."

Tenkamin looked at her brother, trying to read the intent behind those words from his eyes, but to her surprise, he had closed them. For a second she felt like asking, but she decided not to. It would only pull out more emotional filled words, and showing emotions was wrong.

So why did if feel so right?

Looking in front of her, she saw the last light of the day leave. Her eyes widened though, when a white dot seemed to enter her view. And it flew right at her village.

"By Horsa, what may that be?" She whispered.

* * *

"Have you seen how I put that bitch down?" one of the guards boasted.

"She was fast, but she couldn't run from me." A short deep laugh followed up the ego-stroking sentence, booming with pride.

"We should take this kind of things more serious." Gorlois mused.

Both he and the guard that had almost caught Malefor were sitting in one of the many watchtowers in the wall of the city. The sun had started to go down, signalling that their hour-long shift was finally nearing its end. For good measure, they had put a small bowl of fire in the middle of the place. It was lit in every tower when it became night, mostly to keep the warriors warm and to keep bad spirits away.

"You know, I could have taken her on myself if I wanted too." The guard grinned.

"Doesn't matter. This is no time for competition. This whole situation stinks. I think those outsiders will bring us more harm than good. Did you see what happened to Igraine? " Gorlois said, doubt in his voice.

"Maybe. She had it coming though." The guard said, shrugging like her death meant nothing. Gorlois growled at this.

"Now listen here, chap. I wont let you insult the memory of the dea…"

An enormous explosion shook the ground of the watchtower.

"What's happening?" Gorlois bellowed.

"Look over there." The guard screamed, pointing at one of the other watchtowers. To Gorlois his horror, it seemed like the fire God himself had set the construction ablaze. The whole tower was an inferno of flames and the whole top of the tower looked like it had exploded from the inside out, totally blown away.

"No one gets alive out of something like that." The guard muttered, shock clear in his voice. As if on cue, another explosion shook the grounds, this time a little further away.

"The tower on the east has been hit." The guard screamed. Gorlois couldn't believe his eyes. Two seconds ago, the tower was totally fine, but now it had been reduced to rubble. Their was nothing that the guards inside could have done to flee. There as nothing that could have saved them. It wasn't a fair battle.

"What do we do now?" the guard asked, looking at Gorlois, pleading for an answer.

"Stay at your position. I will alarm the king." He said, barely more than a whisper.

The next explosion was without sound. Gorlois couldn't have seen it coming, and he never would. Before he could do anything, he was thrown out of the watchtower, his scales burning. With his wings on fire, he could only scream when he fell to the ground.

* * *

Malefor was slowly falling asleep. Nothing seemed to happen. Authari and Agilulf had fallen asleep some minutes ago, clearly tired from their ruined sleep schedule. She wasn't sure why she didn't want to sleep, but she couldn't deny that something was going horribly wrong. She just felt it. It had been the same feeling that had conquered her so many times in the past when a battle ensued, and she had learned throughout the years to trust her senses. Then again, they had been wrong many times before too, otherwise she wouldn't have been in this predicament.

One big explosion was all it took to change her mind. She was going to trust her senses again, because whatever made that sound wasn't here to have some idle chitchat with the king. This was going to be an eventful night.

The shockwave had awakened the two brothers. Authari, contrary to what Malefor expected, kept himself totally silent. Although it was probably logical that a criminal would know to keep himself calm when in a dangerous situation, she still half expected him to explode in a fountain of curses and insults.

Although she couldn't see Agilulf, she could imagine that he was just as awake as them and keeping in line with his training, wasn't making a single sound. For some reason, this calmed Malefor somewhat. It made her remember the good old days before her revelation about her destiny, where she was constantly surrounded by loyal and capable friends that would fight alongside her.

These new combatants may not be her friends, but they where in the same situation as her, lost in a strange land with a threat that they didn't knew. She couldn't really keep her feelings of nostalgia down, and slowly but surely she began to get pumped up. She was ready for the fight, whatever it would turn out to be.

Out of nowhere, one of the walls collapsed. After the dust of the collapse laid down, the three dragons could see a horribly maimed body of a Withwara soldier lying between the debris. Looking outside, it seemed like they had entered the underworld. Most of the trees and the accompanying houses were on fire, multiple dead warriors decorated the streets and there was an enormous cloud of smoke covering the night sky as a result of the fire. An uneasy silence accompanied the horrible scene.

"What the hell happened here?" Authari whispered.

Another explosion pulled their attention. It came form the other side of the enormous village. Looking at the many flying dots it seemed like most of the warriors and activity was indeed on the other side of the village.

"Well now, time to escape." Authari sighed. Before he could turn around though, he was stopped by Agilulf.

"No way."

"And why not?"

"I owe someone in this village a little favour."

Authari just made another screech, but he didn't resist. Agilulf turned to Malefor.

"What about you?"

Malefor simply nodded.

"I have a sister to protect. I will decimate whoever has done this if he has even come close to touching her. "

A small hint of respect entered Agilulf's eyes, and although Malefor barely saw it, she could feel that that she had just earned points in the blue dragon's mind. She didn't know why, but it assured her a little that maybe, just maybe, the brothers wouldn't stab her in the back when all of this was over.

* * *

Cynder stood before Gwenhwyfach's house, next to the healer herself.

"They imprisoned my sister." She practically screeched at the green dragoness, who was barely keeping the furious dark purple dragoness from just destroying the whole city. She had been this way since she had witnessed the capture of her sibling, and her fury knew no bounds. Nor brakes, when Gwenny thought about it. As a healer, she had witnessed many mourning family members come and go.

Even with such a good reputation as hers, sometimes there were warriors on her cutting table that even she couldn't heal. Mostly, they came from an assassination gone wrong or a treacherous assistant that betrayed them to the person they were supposed to kill.

Some people in the Withwara tribe weren't really suited for the hard life of an assassin. Many of these would become a farmer for the tribe, or would just do defence service within the tribe, but some took more drastic measures. Most of them took assassin job, before betraying their partner.

Most of those traitors used the money that they made by murdering their friend to buy a house somewhere in the south near Warfang, or if they really made enough they would build a small villa somewhere in the Artisan empire. In the end, these guys would be hunted down, but some escaped and integrated within the civilization they chose, staying out of the reach of their own bringers of demise. The family would stay behind though, mostly staying furious till the end of time. A little bit like Cynder if she thought about it.

"Cynder, please. You have to calm down. You aren't helping anyone with this." Gwenhwyfach tried to reason with the fuming dragoness, but to little avail. The purple dragoness was beyond reasoning and fury, but Gwenhwyfach mostly saw sadness. It was the same with all the other people she had ever seen in this situation, although in this case there was the benefit of the sibling not being dead. Still, the results were the same.

"Cynder, please. If you really want to get the best out of the situation, you need to get a hold of yourself. There is no room for discussion if you are in a state like this." The healer tried again, her voice in an almost motherly tone. It had calmed even the most stubborn warriors in practice, and it worked on Cynder too. She calmed down, although only a little.

"I don't want a discussion. I want my sister." She growled through her teeth.

"They imprisoned her, and maybe even worse. She is in the same complex as those blue criminals. Who knows what those bastards did to her. I can't just ignore this, Gwenny. You have to understand…"

"And I do, Cynder. I really do, but right now, the best course of action is staying calm and actually sorting yourself out. You simply can't face anyone like this."

Cynder felt the need to disagree, but her self-control regained strength, and after a long sigh, she sat down on the ground.

"All things considered, could have gone worse." Gwenhwyfach thought with a slight relieved chuckle.

And that was when Gwenny's house exploded, throwing both dragonesses away.

* * *

Tenkamin looked at the sight in horror. The whole centre of the city had been turned into a slaughterhouse. Many warriors of her tribe laid dead on the ground, and every now and again, even a child. Enormous flames engulfed houses and the grass-filled streets. Without any warning, left and right explosions went off, throwing everyone off guard. Every now and then, a burning body would be thrown through the air, giving a gruesome warning to what the hell was attacking her village. Her fears couldn't really conquer her boiling anger through.

Her city, the place she was destined to inherit, the place where she had grown up, the home of her people was being attacked by one of the most destructive forces she had ever seen. In her youth, the healers of old told stories of all the great threats that the tribe had once faced, from attacks from the Artisan empire to invasions by other tribes. Never had anything come even close to what she was witnessing at the moment. There was no room for strategy or coordinated attacks. This was nothing more than chaos, war like animals.

Searching desperately for the source of the attack, she glanced around, her eyes trying to penetrate the thick clouds that clouded the night sky and made finding the threat difficult. Her senses spiked when three dark shadows entered her vision. She raised her claws, going for the kill, but she managed to stop herself just in time.

"High-Priest Drest." She whispered. The dragon in question nodded. The old priest was the guard of the gate of the city and judging by his wounds, he had received the first blows. After him stood two dragons, one male and one female. They were both soldiers by the looks of it, but their youthful appearance betrayed that they were mere apprentices. Both of them were dirty and seemed to have taken many explosions at close range. The male held a desperate look in his eyes, while the female seemed more angry than anything else.

"Could you please tell me what's going on?" the princess asked the priest. The elder dragon nodded in response.

"Yesterday morning, warrior Igraine was found back dead. She seemed to have been killed by a wild animal, but now I believe it was a warning. Whatever murdered her has come no to finish the whole tribe off." Drest said, his voice hoarse. His eyes were piercing her, waiting for the response worthy of his time. Tenkamin had always known that the gatekeeper was rather paranoid, so this was no surprise.

"Any idea what we're dealing with?" she asked, another explosion sounding in the background. The priest shook his head.

"No sire, but I do have a feeling for whom he has come. I already knew that they were trouble when you let them inside, and I think I have been proven right."

"You suggest that he's after Cynder and Malefor?" Tenkamin asked. Again, Drest just nodded. Another explosion swapped through the city.

"The sisters can be dealt with later. What do you say younglings? Want to kick some ass together with the high-priest and your princess?" Tenkamin asked. Both of the younglings nodded like crazy, although the male way less enthusiastic. Before they had time to properly reply, Tenkamin had already taken off, Drest following closely. The younglings weren't far behind. While gaining height, Tenkamin could see the full scale of the attack, and it appeared to be an disaster. There was fire everywhere. Not a single house was spared. Bodies were everywhere.

She wouldn't get distracted though. She had an objective, and she wouldn't fail her people. Looking around, she noticed a force of around thirty dragons making their way to the entrance of the village, led on by Galvano, her father.

"It seems like the attacker has returned to his place of entrance. I wonder what he is up to." Drest murmured. Tenkamin could help but agree.

"Whatever it is, we cant let it finish its plans. We have lost enough as it is." She answered. As if on cue, the four dragons pulled their wings against their bodies, doing a divebomb right at the spot where the army was heading at. All four of them plummeted to the ground, until they opened their wings at the very last second, landing with grace. The air wave pushed the surrounding smoke away. There, in front of Tenkamin, she could see a white silhouette appearing. Slowly but surely, a dragon appeared, and Tenkamin felt her breath get stuck in her throat when she gazed upon this monster that he caused so many deaths already.

His scales where as white as a ghost and just as dirty, and his eyes where empty white holes, no pupil visible. Three enormous horns adorned his skull like a crown, making appear bigger than he really was. Through the lack of blood on his body, Tenkamin could deduce that he hadn't even be wounded once but also that he hadn't even bothered to actually fight any of the warriors. He just blew them up

"Tell me your name, beast. Tell me, before I rip you to shreds." Tenkamin growled, taking a battle stance. The three other dragons mirrored her actions.

There was no reaction from the white dragon. No response, no attack, no tensing of the body. Nothing. And when finally something happened, no one was prepared. Before anyone could move, the white dragon disappeared, only to reappear again behind the male youngling. An enormous fire escaped from the white dragon's mouth, engulfing the youngling before he had a chance to do a thing, and only his screams escaped the flames. It ended before anyone realised that it had started, and the white dragon disappeared again, leaving a heavily bleeding and dying youngling on the ground. Tenkamin could only gape in shock at the horrible sight before her.

"Who are you?" she whispered. Another scream was all the answer she ever got. The female youngling, tears forming in her eyes, was throwing up blood, a white paw bursting through her stomach. With a powerful swipe, the arm tossed the dying youngling on Tenkamin, throwing the dragoness backwards. When she tried to stand back up, she froze when she saw the eyes of the small female youngling gazing in to hers.

"Please….I don't want to d…." she managed to utter, before chocking on her own blood, her eyes turning upwards, never to see the light of day again. Carefully putting the body of the small dragoness aside, Tenkamin began to shudder with rage an shock. Looking around her, she screamed.

"What are you?"

Tenkamin looked around, until a paw rested on her shoulder. Jerking her head back, she saw Drest, clearly shocked but calculated , trying to pull her away from the scene.

"Lets leave, princess. It isn't save here."

"No. I need to…"

"Your tribe has already lost too many. Don't let them lose the only person who could lead them to a brighter future."

Shaking with rage, she nodded and she followed Drest, away from the scene, not realising the empty white eyes that followed her.

* * *

"Please don't go Cynder. I beg you, it isn't safe there." Gwenhwyfach pled to the purple dragoness.

"I wont stand here and do nothing, Gwenny. My sister could be there."

"You do not know that. She could be anywhere." the healer countered, slowly getting angry herself.

"I take no chances. Why do you care anyway? I though you lot where assassins. Professional murderers. Why would you care about one more lost life? " Cynder hissed back.

"Because I am not an assassin. I am a healer. I save lifes, not take them. I care for people, and so I wont let someone throw themselves for the wolves like that." Gwenny almost screamed in desperation, before regaining control over herself.

"Look Cynder. You got hurt by the explosion. You are in no shape to fight. This guy would smash you like a fly. Please, I beg you. Please reconsider."

"I am sorry Gwenny. You have been very kind to me, but I have to do this. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Cynder said, sighing.

"Okay then. Its your choice. But if you really want to go, I will go with you." The healer answered. Cynder frowned at this, but she could use all the help she could get.

"Alright then. Let's go."

* * *

Tenkamin was breathing heavily, the shock of what happened to her still laying on her. Those kids…..they were dead. Their light ripped from this world. It wasn't like Tenkamin had never seen violence before. She was a proud warrior, and she had murdered many tribesmen in their sleep, as well as in battle. Their was no dirty trick that she hadn't seen or tried to use herself, but it had never involved children. It was almost an unspoken rule amongst the tribes in the swamps that using children was beyond redeemable.

They were the future of a tribe, but they also held an innocence that only few warriors were able to put themselves over when trying to harm them. What kind of dragon would kill a being that was barely able to harm them? It was clear that the white dragon was strong enough to destroy the whole place if he wanted too, so why did he feel the need to kill so needlessly and so cruel?

There was no reason for it. With the feeling of a stone dropping in her stomach, Tenkamin realised with what kind of beast they were dealing with. She had only heard stories about such kind of warriors. They couldn't be reasoned with, they had no motives, they had no morals and they felt nothing for no one. They just wanted to destroy. They lived on hatred for everything and everyone. A shudder went over her spine while she reached the palace.

Her father's palace still seemed untouched by the destruction around it and so she figured it would be the safest place to hide. Drest had left her when they crossed her father's army on the way to the tower. Her father had agreed with the high-priest his decision to send her back to their house, rubbing it in how not-ready she was for battle. She wasn't going to argue though, her mind still too much a mess to do such a thing. There were more important things happening at the moment.

While she entered her house, she couldn't help but look outside before closing the door. Somehow, she felt like she was being watched. Her paws trembled a little when her eyes scanned the destroyed surroundings. The smoke and fire made it extremely difficult to see what was going on, and the eerie silence brought on another layer of discomfort. Before her nerves could get the best of her, she smacked the door shut, a weird flow of panic giving the move more force then she intended. She sighed.

"Silly girl. Be the warrior you are meant to be, coward." She whispered to herself.

"A silly girl indeed."

With a move almost causing a whiplash, Tenkamin turned around to face the whisper. Her body almost fell to the ground in fear when she realised who stood before her.

"What are you?" She whispered through her shaky breath. The white dragon didn't answer. He just moved, closer.

* * *

 **So...yeah. I know that there are no excuses for how long I left this time. The only thing I can say is that now I have to redo my year in school, I want to make it a year that I will remember. I have spent more time with friends at the bar or at parties, more so than on any other point of my life. I don't spent hours behind a PC anymore. I don't spent whole evenings outlining stories and mythologies. At the moment , I just enjoy living. I study some languages I like (I am working on my German, and slowly but surely on my Swedish and Norwegian. French is slowly becoming better), I party the night away and I make music for the fun of it. My break has been an awesome time to reevaluate what I value most in my life, and now when I am nearing the age of 18, I think I have began to understand myself. I will never stop with writing. It is a part of me that I will never leave behind. I will work slower though. At this moment, I am practicing on writing in my native Flemish Dutch, and I am also translating this story into my mother tongue. I have decided that I am here for the fun of it, and I have let the hunt for followers and favorites go. I thank you all for sticking with this train-wreck of a story, and I hope you will enjoy everything else I will throw at you guys. I am alos working on a RWBY story, written in German, Dutch, French, Norwegian and maybe Swedish, all at the same time. It is an enormous project, but I will try to do it properly.**

 **Goe dagske nog verder**

 **Cuweart den Duvel**


End file.
